Grey Area
by Shadows Twilight
Summary: We know the story of the Exobyte Victims' plight against Brainiac, but what other trials must these heroes endure? Follow the Angel of Tech Sachel and the ex-cop Monokrome as they deal with demons from their pasts come back to haunt them. Rated T for violence, some language, and mature themes in later chapters. Reviews are appreciated
1. Ch 1: Reunion

Grey Area Ch. 1

Reunion

Monokrome stood on the roof of the Wayne Enterprises building in the center of Gotham City, his tattered cape flowing in the wind. All around him, Gotham was a war-zone. A couple miles to his left, a squad of Brainiac's incursion bots fought in vain against the exobyte victims in order to put them back in their pods, while to his right, a brownish-green haze covered a few city blocks where Scarecrow was attempting to take advantage of the chaos by gassing the surrounding area. Monokrome sighed. Just another night in Gotham City.

Monokrome was an imposing figure. He was six feet tall and his broad-shouldered frame was concealed beneath a black suit covered in light grey pieces of what some described as "future cop body armor", with the exception of his gauntlets, which had a more organic look to them sporting two curved spikes on the sides. A tattered cape hung from his shoulders and his head was concealed beneath a black helmet sporting two "bat ears" coming from the side, the telltale sign of a hero under Batman's teachings.

Normally Monokrome would be out with his fellow heroes, fighting tooth and nail to repel Brainiac's forces until everything went back to normal, but when you're a deputy member of the Justice League, you have to do what the League says, and tonight, Monokrome was put on Chaos Patrol, or as they called it in the water-room, 'Thug Duty'. Thug Duty was a rotary duty that had the unlucky hero patrolling around the city looking for petty criminals hoping to take advantage of the ensuing chaos, muggers, thieves, thugs, and the lot. It was very demeaning work, but someone had to do it.

Monokrome checked the radar in his helmet's heads-up display one more time to see if there were any persons-of-ill-will around. Finding none, he glided to the next sector to scan again.

Being a cop in the GCPD, Monokrome, then known as Detective Richard Grare, was frequently granted his wish for excitement and adventure, but his personal quest for justice was usually left starving. While the GCPD was by no means incompetent, it seemed only criminals brought in by the Bat family had any charges stick to them, although Grare had always suspected that their method of evidence gathering was on the other side of the legal line. The only arrest Grare had ever had that ended in a guilty verdict was one of Falcone's hitmen, Victor Hashan, but that had been pure luck. It wasn't until the Brainiac Invasion as well as the exobyte infestation that he had ever felt that he made a difference in the world.

Monokrome was interrupted from his reminiscence by a red dot appearing on his radar, indicating a silent alarm being triggered. Monokrome tracked it to the roof of a nearby building where a thug was trying to pick the lock. Monokrome smiled beneath his helmet. He pulled his bone-hilt katana from his back and walked up behind the would-be thief. The thug in question noticed the shadow a second too late and turned around just in time to be smacked across the face by the flat of the blade. The poor guy never stood a chance.

He stayed conscious just long enough to groan at the black and white hero standing above him.

"Can't a guy catch a break?" he spat.

"Never," Monokrome said as he snapped cuffs around his wrists and a beacon in his pocket. The police would pick up the petty criminal once they got a signal from the beacon and haul him off to jail.

"Stuck with thug duty tonight, Monokrome?"

Monokrome turned around just to see a woman in a black trench coat and red shirt flying towards him with red mechanical wings, her eyes glowing bright white.

"It would seem so, Sachel," Monokrome responded, "What brings you to Gotham? I thought Superman had your schedule full for the whole week."

The hero known as Sachel sighed, brushing her short black hair out of her eyes, "He did, but Metallo is not near as troublesome when none of his circuits are connected."

Monokrome nodded. The Man of Steel must have been crazy to think woman nicknamed the Angel of Technology would have any trouble with a robotic opponent. He must have been testing her.

"So what brings you here?"

Another sigh, "Apparently the Joker is warring at Bane again, but all of Batman's protégés are 'busy'." Monokrome the jibe fall on deaf ears. It wasn't his fault he was on Thug Duty.

Sachel smiled, "So with my schedule clear for the rest of the week, I volunteered to go in. Who knows, maybe I'll end up getting a trophy for myself." Sachel said this while eying Monokrome's belt, which he had taken from Bane after he and Nightwing had taken him down some time ago. Being one of Monokrome's first tussles, he felt it was worth something to remember it by.

A beep on Monokrome's helmet pointed him to a car alarm down the alley. Sachel smiled and lifted off.

"Duty calls," Sachel chided, "See you around, Krome boy."

Monokrome watched her go and then went after the car thief. He wasn't far, just under the train tracks two blocks away. He dropped to the ground silently, or at least as silently as armored boots would allow. The car thief was a few yards ahead, attempting to break into a red sports car with a license plate that read 'F1ASH 2'. Catchy. Monokrome crept up behind the crook, this time deciding to dispatch him with a quick mind burst. Before he could send the painful though on its path, however, the car thief whipped around and delivered a sharp uppercut to his jaw. Monokrome found himself lifted up off his feet and before landing painfully on his back. Luckily his helmet had taken most of the damage, but it had still hurt. Getting to his feet, Monokrome saw the thief had shed his street clothes to reveal a black, gray, and yellow clad being with a hooded cape, a shaded mask, and a shuriken emblem on his chest. He was one of the new villains, an exobyte victim who decided to use his newfound abilities for his own selfish needs.

The villain had tossed the crowbar aside and replaced it with two energy blaster pistols, both pointed at the fallen heroes head.

"Don't move," the villain growled. These were orders that Monokrome usually was forced to obey under gunpoint, but then again, _usually_ never used to include Monokrome being a super-acrobat with mental powers. Monokrome sent a mental beam at the hooded figure, lifting the villain off the ground and sending a nearby trash can crashing into him. Monokrome had his katana out in an instant and swung it at the villain hard, but the shadowy figure was quick to recover and deflected it easily with his pistols. Monokrome swung his sword at the villain time and time again, but the villain was proficient in hand-to-hand combat, and parried every blow. The villain began firing at Monokrome, though whatever shot that Monokrome didn't dodge was batted aside by his blade. He swung at the villain again, but the villain was quick and he managed to roll away from the hero all the while still firing his guns.

Two bullets managed to graze Monokrome's left arm and leg, cutting through his shirt and pants and causing him to back into the car. Not giving him a chance to recover, the villain threw an explosive shuriken at the fallen hero, embedding it in the car right in front of Monokrome's face. The black-and-white clad hero had barely enough time to process the flashing object in front of him before it exploded, temporarily blinding him as the explosion clouded his mask's eye holes. He was weakened, blinded, and on the ground. Monokrome didn't have to be an expert to figure out that this was the perfect time for the villain to strike. Using the nearing footsteps as a compass, Monokrome released three telepathic blades in the villain's general direction. Two of them missed by a mile, but the centered on hit the villain head on, blasting the villain right in the chest. Monokrome's vision cleared just as the villain was lifted off his feet and landed on his back hard, lying exactly the way Monokrome had only a moment earlier.

Before Monokrome had a chance to celebrate, however, the villain leaped to his feet and shot a grapple at the nearest building. He was out of sight before Monokrome had the chance to pull out his own grapple, but before he left, Monokrome noticed a white card left by the villain. He picked it up, and was shocked by what it said.

"_Well fought, Detective Grare."_


	2. Ch 2: Reminiscence

Grey Area Ch. 2

Reminiscence

Oblivious to the plight of her friend, Sachel skimmed the skyscrapers of Gotham on her way to the lighthouse where Bane had been reported to be. Sachel loved flying; it was her favorite activity in the entire world. Even the thrill of slashing one of Brainiac's pawns open with her tri-bladed katars or crushing a villain's face under her tall-trimmed boot was paled by the sensation of going anywhere she wanted at any time. Any time, that is, when the League wasn't sending her on a mission to fight super-villains.

The lighthouse came into view ahead of her, and Sachel felt the familiar rush before a mission. It was a feeling she hadn't felt in a long time, not in a couple of decades, at least.

Surrounding the lighthouse was a bunch of Bane's venom-enhanced thugs, trying their best to defend against GCPD's best. It mattered little to Sachel. For all their strength and muscles, they couldn't defend against a lone, flying superhero.

Unable to resist the urge to make an entrance, Sachel maneuvered upwards. When she was at the desired angle, Sachel dove straight for the uppermost window. At the last possible second, Sachel tucked her wings in and crashed through the window. She hit the ground hard, but rolled to minimize the impact. Brushing the glass shards from her hair, Sachel allowed herself a satisfied smile. Yeah, that was good.

"There is a door, you know," said a gruff voice behind her.

Sachel whipped around, katars in hand, to find the barrel of a very big gun in her face, a very big venom thug standing on the other end. Sachel quickly brought her hand up, smashing the gun upwards. Before the thug could react, the Angel of Tech had brought her heel to his throat, striking his windpipe. Within seconds, the venom-enhanced thug was on the ground, with a very intimidating superhero on his chest and a very sharp blade at his throat.

"Where is Bane?" Sachel growled, her playful attitude all but vanished.

The thug spluttered, he wasn't used to being on the other end of the intimidation game.

"D-Downstairs," he croaked out, "In the basement."

Sachel sighed, "And of course I came in at the top."

A quick stomp dispatched the "guard", and Sachel made her way downstairs. There were other guards on the way, but they all fell just as easy as the first. One didn't even bother fighting. After seeing his buddy taken out by an exploding shuriken, he simply ran out of the lighthouse into the waiting arms of the GCPD. Arriving at the basement, Sachel found herself in what appeared to be a modern day dungeon. Chains hung from the ceiling, and barrels of venom were all over the room. She could tell what it was based on the odor alone. One does .Before she had time to recover from the smell, however, a crashing sound behind her caught her attention. She turned around to see the gate crashing down.

Great, Sachel mused, trapped in an underground cesspool with no sign of her target.

No sooner did the thought leave her mind did she feel a giant impact in the small of her back. The impact was similar to being struck by a moving train, and the Angel found herself crashing into the recently closed gate. Once her head cleared she saw a giant standing above her with a black wife-beater and a black and white wrestling mask. A red tube protruded from the back of his head and connected to a belt similar to the one Monokrome wore. She had found Bane.

"On your feet," Bane said calmly, "I will not strike a woman while she's down."

Sexist bastard, Sachel thought angrily, "No, only when her back is turned."

Bane said nothing, only stood there. It was all the time Sachel needed to throw a shruiken at the giant's venom tube. Bane reacted quickly, well-practiced at defending his greatest weapon. Sachel used the distraction to her advantage, launching herself at his abdomen. She struck him with all her might, and while it made him back up a step or two, it did more damage to her than him. Assuming it did _any_ damage to him. Bane grabbed her by the neck and hurled her at one of the room's support beams. It's safe to assume that it hurt. Without warning, Sachel flashed back to the last time she had been on the bad side of a beating, so many years ago.

_Sachel found herself on the ground. Looming above her was the person she had thought she had known for many years. Nathan, his name was. He grabbed her collar and hoisted her up. Through a puffy eye, Sachel saw the man grinning like a wild animal. _

Bane leaped into the air, intending to smash his fists into her. Sachel rolled out of the way, causing the giant to smash into the ground. Not missing a step, the hulking man grabbed the support beam and ripped it from its place. Dust fell from the ceiling, filling Sachel a sense of foreboding of what would happen if Bane ripped out any more. Bane swung the beam at her as if he was swinging a baseball bat. Sachel erected a electrical barrier around herself, causing the beam to smash her across the room similar to a bat striking a baseball. Sachel hit the wall in full force, causing her shield to short out. _Home run_, she thought to herself as she struggled to get up.

_Nathan's hands wrapped their hands around Sachel's neck and began to squeeze. Sachel fought and kicked, but nothing seemed to be able to break his vice-like grip. Reaching out, Sachel's hand wrapped around a bottle of wine. Sachel smashed it across Nathan's face. The crazed man screamed in pain and let go. Sachel fell to the floor, coughing and hacking up a storm. _

Sachel got to her feet and pressed a button on her wrist communicator, causing three holographic duplicates of herself to fade into existence. They all four rocketed in the air and flew in circles around the Bat-breaker, peppering the floor with explosive shuriken.

However, Bane was known just as much for his brain as he was his brawn, and quickly snatched the real Sachel out from the group and slammed her onto the ground, causing the holograms to fade.

"I feel insulted. The League thinks me so weak, they send one little _bruja_ down here to challenge me?" Bane let out a large, bellowing laugh. "The Bat must not think much of you, or perhaps too much, to think you can defeat me alone." Bane grabbed her by the neck and began to squeeze…

_Sachel finally caught her breath, and moved to attack her would-be attacker, but before she got the chance, he whirled around, plunging sharp object into her abdomen. Sachel's eyes widened as she felt it penetrate deep into her. Nathan…why? Her thoughts clouded as the darkness began to consume her. By the time they found her, it was almost too late. Almost._

As the giant held her hanging above the ground, Sachel felt that same darkness starting to creep around her. If she didn't do something soon, she was going to die here. Alone. From a drug-crazed maniac. Not exactly the way she wanted to go. Luckily she still had one last card to play, and if that didn't work, well, at least she wouldn't have to worry about Monokrome's teasing. Lifting her arms, which at the moment felt like they were made of lead, Sachel managed to push a button on her glove. Behind Bane, a green and purple robot sporting two cannons materialized, transported from the Watchtower via Zeta beams. Not a second too soon, the robot peppered Bane's back with rubber bullets. It wasn't enough to do serious damage, but at least it got him to drop Sachel. He spun wildly, mentally vowing to destroy the annoying contraption. The distraction works, as Sachel summoned all of her remaining strength to throw a shuriken at Bane's venom tube. The throwing star struck true, slicing the tube in half and draining Bane of the powerful drug. Bane spasmed and screamed, his body convulsing as it reverted to its original form. Sachel herself sunk to the floor, unconsciousness finally taking her over. The last thought before the darkness took her: _Damn, I'm probably not going to get my trophy._

_She awoke in a bed two weeks later. Standing above her was her oldest friend and mentor, with the most worried look a man his age could ever pull off. Sachel was thankful. She was beaten, bruised, and alive. Despite all that had happened, Sachel could feel God watching over her…_


	3. Ch 3: Rest

Grey Area Ch. 3

Rest

Sachel woke from a start. Looking around, she found herself alone in an apartment building in Metropolis. It took her a moment to recognize it as the apartment she had recently acquired and shared with fellow Justice League deputy, Lexicon.

Sachel sat up and winced as a sharp pain racked her side. Damn, she thought, Bane must have cracked a couple of ribs. Sachel started. Wait a minute. How the hell did I get here!?

Sachel heard the door close, and her friend and roommate Lexicon walked into the room, removing her v-domino mask and placing it on the table. Lexicon was a small girl with brown hair that she kept back in a braid. Her costume was a black jumpsuit with green vine-like lines running throughout it, creating almost circuit-like pattern across her body. Her gloves and boots were green with thorn-like protrusions coming from the sides, and a black cape with green trim hung from her shoulders.

"Hey there, angel face," Lexicon said flashing a smile, "How are we feeling this morning?"

Sachel groaned, "What the hell happened?"

Lexicon's smile faltered, "When the GCPD worked their way into the Cape Carmine Lighthouse they found you next to Bane. After they secured him, they called the League, the League called me, I came and got you, brought you here, nursed you back to health."

Sachel looked down and found her chest stripped down to her sports bra and wrapped in bandages. With Lexicon being a lesbian, Sachel imagined the pleasure it gave her to be able to remove her roommates clothes, even in such dire circumstances.

Lexicon smiled, "Speaking of which, now that you're awake, I can give you this." She reached into the medicine cabinet and produced a bottle filled with a neon green liquid. While the healing arts were more Lexicon's turf than hers, Sachel could not help but feel uneasy, "Lexi, what the hell is that?"

Lexicon smiled, "Relax, it's just a couple of herbs mixed with a Soder Cola. It won't fix you up completely, but it will make it hurt a lot less."

While not exactly convinced, Sachel gave her friend the benefit of the doubt and downed the whole thing. It tasted terrible, but Sachel felt her ribs feeling better almost instantly, and allowed herself a mental sigh of relief. After finishing the bottle, Sachel got out of bed and reached for her gear, only to find it nowhere to be found.

"Lexi," she said, "Where's my stuff?"

Lexicon had had moved into the bathroom and was now changing out of her costume and into an evening dress. "What stuff?" she said innocently.

"Oh, nothing important," Sachel said, her voice dripping with sarcasm, "Just my coat, my wings, and my weapons. It's really hard to do my job without them."

"Relax, angel face," Lexicon laughed, exiting the restroom in a green evening dress, putting her favorite earrings in, "Superman told me that he wanted you to take the weekend off so you could heal properly, and I didn't want you to spend good rest time out on the streets again, so I hid your stuff. Don't worry; you'll get it back when you're cleared for duty again."

Sachel grimaced inside. She didn't like "rest time". Rest time allowed her mind to wander, and she didn't like the places it liked to wander too.

Lexicon smiled, "Cheer up, Sachel, I heard that Monokrome got the weekend off, too. Maybe you could go down to Gotham and pay him a visit."

Sachel didn't need to be a genius to figure out what Lexicon was implying, "For the last time, there is nothing going on between Monokrome and me."

Lexicon did not look convinced, "Sure, that's why you flirt with him whenever he's around, and take every Gotham mission you can get your hands on."

Sachel's expression yielded nothing. Lexicon sighed, "Well, whatever, just no crime fighting, and no sulking around the apartment, go out and have some fun. You look like you could use it."

Sachel nodded and motioned towards Lexicon's apparel, "And what about you, where is the great Lexicon going to be up to tonight?"

Lexicon smiled, "The great Lexicon is going out. The Question managed to hook me up with this girl in Magic, I'm about to go meet her for coffee."

Sachel smiled back, "Should I leave the apartment for you?"

Lexicon giggled, "Don't be ridiculous, this is just a first date."

"Do I need to remind you of the stakeout at the Metrodome?"

"Shut up."

Sachel smiled, "Ok, well, have fun."

Lexicon, walked towards the door, "I think I will," she said with a smile, "Don't wait up for me, and remember, get out of the apartment and have some of fun of your own."

Sachel shook her head as the door closed. For such a sweet girl, Lexicon could be such a pest.

* * *

In a residential neighborhood in the slums of Gotham, Monokrome moved stealthily into his own apartment. He moved to the back of the apartment where he moved aside a bookcase to reveal a hidden room where he kept all of his stuff. Was it a little cliche? Yeah. Did it work any less because of it? Not really. Inside the room was a small desk with a computer resting on it that was connected to the Watchtower mainframe as well as his communicator, as well as a wardrobe where he stored all of his gear. It was no Batcave, but hey, what are you gonna do?

Monokrome opened the wardrobe and started changing out of his outfit. He removed his helmet to reveal a man with short black hair and a full trimmed beard. He placed his on top of the rack and took a minute to admire it. Of all his trophies and accomplishments, the helmet was the one he was most proud of. The helmet was a gift from Batman himself, a badge of honor given to those who garnered immense respect in the eyes of the Dark Knight. To Richard Grare, no higher honor could be given.

Richard finished changing out of his costume and sat at the desk. While his mind would rather be out fighting the good fight, his body was more than happy for the reprieve, so when Nightwing had relayed the orders for his vacation, his mind gave in to his body and no argument was given. There was one thing he needed to do before retiring for the night. Logging in to the Watchtower's network, Richard accessed the database of known exobyte villains. While it wasn't as much of a danger as it used to be, due to the large number of superheroes about, Richard did his best to keep his identity a secret. When he had been granted the exobyte abilities, only Gordan had been told of his dual life. Even Sachel was unaware of who he truly was, even though he was sure Batman had figured it out from the get go. So how did the villain who attacked him know who he was? After a few moments of searching, Monokrome found the villain in the database. His file didn't reveal much. He was new to the territory, only surfacing a few nights ago, and seemed to be working for the Joker. No real name, no known abilities, no nothing. The only useful information that Richard was able to find was that the villain worked under the name of 'Vendettuh', and that wasn't really useful at all.

Richard sighed and closed down the computer. Whoever this guy was, he had been causing problems on the streets for longer than a few nights. It may not have been in Gotham, but somewhere. Exobytes or no, no one was that good without experience.

Deciding to give it up for the night, Monokrome slipped out of his makeshift hideout and grabbed a beer before settling down in his recliner. It wasn't long before the veteran cop made rookie superhero was off into another place. Being a superhero in Gotham could really take it out of a guy.

* * *

Sachel wandered the darkened streets of Metropolis dressed in a Green Lantern hoodie and black jeans. Despite her best efforts, she was having a difficult time enjoying her time off. Her first attempt was to try some of the local nightclubs that Lexicon seemed to enjoy so much, those that weren't infested with supervillains, that is. That, of course, was a complete disaster. It seemed so interesting when Lexicon described it. You could walk in, have a few drinks, dance your heart out, hit on a few guys, the whole nine yards. What she seemed to fail to mention, however, was that the drinks were expensive, the music was terrible, and all the guys seemed to be nothing but a bunch of idiots who had just one thing on their minds. So, wandering the streets again, Sachel racked her brain for things to fill her agonizing time off.

As if a response to her thoughts, it started to rain. While most of the residents scrambled for cover at the nearest building, or opened umbrellas, Sachel merely stopped and looked up with her eyes closed and a smile on her face. She liked the rain. There was something about the cold pitter-patter on her face that seemed to wash her troubles away. Opening her eyes a crack, Sachel looked longingly at the clouds, wishing in that moment to be skimming among them, free as a bird. Unfortunately, Lexicon still had her wings hidden away with the rest of her equipment. Sachel smiled sadly. Not for the first time, Sachel wished to return to the time before Brainiac, before Nathan. To go back to the time where she could fly without the need for machines, or magic, or any other kind of outside aid, and just fly for as long as she wanted for as far as she wanted. Those were the days she wished for.

Sachel hung her head, a small tear forming in her eye. She could wish for such days all she wanted, but as hard as she might wish otherwise, those days were gone. She had made sure of that herself.

Sachel kept walking, and eventually found herself at the steps of church. Usually such a building did nothing but remind of her own mistakes, but today, she felt irresistibly drawn to it.

* * *

Unbeknownst to the Angel of Tech, a lone figure watched her from atop the rooftops. A few blocks away, an imposing man in red and black demonic armor, a red tattered cape, and a spiked helmet watched the hero's troubled venture.

When theology professor and closet Satanist, Jason Malum, had been targeted by the exobytes, they gave him more than the ability to summon fire or the speed of a lightning bolt. They had also given him a certain perception that allowed him to see past the facades and personas that people shielded themselves from society with. He saw who they truly were, all of their strengths, and all of their weaknesses. Many assumptions he had about the true nature of people were destroyed the day he was granted this new sight, but when he looked at this new hero, what he saw truly astounded him. Behind the jokes and flirtations, beneath all the playfulness and childish attitudes, the villain who called himself Beelzebub saw a woman wise far beyond her years, one who seemed both humbled by time yet broken by the unimaginable guilt that all but consumed the young woman.

Such a strange creature interested Beelzebub, but what truly had him fixated on the young hero was something she kept hidden beneath everything else. Something buried very deep, beneath all the black and re pain and suffering, beneath the layers and layers of burning guilt, even beneath the black and white speckled attraction she felt from time to time, there glowed a secret so surprising and unimaginable that Beelzebub wasn't even sure what in Hell's tarnation it even was. He had watched her for quite a while trying to figure out what it was that shined so brightly in the young woman's heart. It wasn't until Sachel walked into the church did Beelzebub finally know what it was, and it was in that moment that the giant penny had dropped in his mind did Beelzebub realize that it would cause him no greater pleasure than to destroy this hero.


	4. Ch 4: Revenge

Grey Area Ch. 4

Revenge

A noise in the distance woke Richard with a start, causing the detective/superhero snatching the dagger he kept on his bedside table so fast it would've impressed the Flash. Looking outside, he saw that a storm had rolled in, which lead him to assume that the noise that woke him was probably thunder. Still, Richard was awake now, and now that he was awake, there was no hope for a good night's sleep now. Richard rolled out of bed and went into the kitchen. He decided he was to fix himself a midnight snack, and then maybe try to go back to bed.

No sooner did he enter the kitchen, however, did he find the source of the commotion. One of the windows was open, and on the counter sat a black case with a silver shuriken emblem on it. Without warning the case popped open, revealing a bomb with a ten second counter and a note scrawled in the same handwriting as the note left by the villain who called himself Vendettuh:

"_Tick-tock, Detective, better move"_

Richard reacted immediately, rushing to his hideaway. After he had set up his miniature Batcave, Batman had given him some tips on how to keep it from those that shouldn't be in it, among which was blast reinforcement. Monokrome had made good use of these tips, and when he was done the back room could've passed for a mediocre panic room. The landlady wouldn't appreciate it much, but when you lead the life of a superhero, sometimes you do what you have to. Turns out it wasn't such a bad idea. If Richard had the time to think about it, he would've appreciated the fact that the room that protected his secret life was now responsible for his standard one. Poetic, no? Unfortunately, Richard had no time for such thoughts, as his only objective was to be in a safe place when that bomb went off.

Richard had just enough time to push the bookcase out of the way, punch in the code, get in, and slam the door shut before the bomb went off. Richard heard the explosion through the door, causing the room to shake and the lights to flicker. Richard swung open the door to his wardrobe and grabbed his outfit off its rack. Someone had just tried to bomb him. Someone just made a very big mistake.

* * *

A block or two away from the explosion, the would-be assassin called Vendettuh watched as Detective Grare get to cover as the bomb counted down. He needn't have bothered. The bomb was made to be more for show than destruction. When it exploded, the counter top was blown to pieces and that was about it. Vendettuh was quite satisfied with the result. The message was sent: Watch out, Hero, somebody's out to get you. He wasn't so satisfied, however, to see Monokrome crawl out of the building and on top of the building with the speed and agility of a jungle cat in pursuit of his attacker. Vendettuh ran to the ledge behind him and jumped off onto a lower building, a little too late it seemed. Monokrome had spotted his attacker. The chase was on.

* * *

Sachel walked in front of the altar in the church on the outskirts of Metropolis, gazing up on the crucifix hanging above her. The symbol represented many things to many people. To some, it inspired hope, to others, a sense of protection. Monokrome himself said that to him it represented everything it meant to be a hero: sacrificing anything and everything in hopes for a better tomorrow. To Sachel, however, it stood as a reminder to everything she had done and everything she needed to make amends to.

_Fire was blazing everywhere. All around her, people were crying in pain and agony, crying for someone to save them, crying for someone to end their pain. Mothers held their children as fires consumed them, and men fell to the ground to shield themselves from the debris. Sachel noticed none of this. Her burning eyes were on him and him alone. He looked at her with tears in his eyes, begging her for mercy, begging her for forgiveness. She had none._

Sachel closed her eyes, doing her best to block out the images. By now she was usually pretty good at burying the memories, but here, they stayed fresh in her mind. She looked up once again to the crucifix, and knelt at the altar. She never asked for forgiveness, nor had she ever asked for reprieve. Who was she to beg for the things she herself had denied him? No, she deserved her punishment, and she would not be so weak as to beg for it to end. Instead, she knelt down and prayed in apology. She pictured in her head all that she had let down, all those whose trust she had betrayed that day, and all those she had hurt. There, in that church, she knelt before them all.

"I'm so sorry," she whispered, a tear rolling down her cheek, "I'm so sorry for everything." She said nothing else. She didn't need to.

In that moment, a flash appeared in her eyes, and for a moment, she saw things as she did long ago, before her exile, before her mistake. She saw the world as it was, everything brimming with color and emotion, and for a moment, she was back to the way she was. The feeling lasted for only a second, but that was all she needed, because within the prism of feeling and wonder, she detected something else as well. She was not alone.

* * *

Beelzebub had entered the church around the time that Sachel bowed before the altar. Beelzebub didn't like churches; they gave him a feeling that he was being watched by someone who didn't like him very much. It was well worth it, though. A closer look confirmed Beelzebub's suspicions. This guilt ridden female was not what she appeared to be. As the guilt that she had kept contained boiled over, the small light deep within her began to shine brighter than one would have believed possible. Beelzebub was tempted to stay still and watch this phenomenon continue, but with Sachel being what she was, it was best to just destroy her there and now. He pointed his open palm to her back, summoning all the power inside him. A focused beam of energy would leave his hand and straight into her brain and it would all be over. It might've worked, if only she didn't turn around.

* * *

Monokrome leaped onto the building below him just as Vendettuh leaped off. The pursuit had been going on for at least half an hour with neither participant showing any signs of tiring down or slowing down. The only advantage Monokrome seemed to have over this guy was that Vendettuh had dropped his grapple gun while scaling a nearby building, which Monokrome could not help but crush under his heel on the way past. Since then, the dual-wielding assassin has chosen to instead to do his best to outmaneuver and out think Monokrome by weaving his way seemingly randomly throughout the streets between buildings, a method that Monokrome was finding disturbingly effective.

He caught a break when he rounded a corner to find Vendettuh scaling a nearby building. Thinking quickly, Monokrome opted to scale the building after him. As soon as he got high enough, Monokrome then fired his grapple gun at the villain's legs. The grapple struck true, grabbing the bottom of his boot. Vendettuh fought and kicked, but this grapple had been a design of Batman's. It wasn't letting go anytime soon. Monokrome pulled hard on the line, pulling the villain off the building. Rather than falling to his death, the grapple line went taught, causing Vendettuh to smash his head into the building, knocking him unconscious.

Monokrome continued to scale the building, hauling the unconscious villain beneath him. _I think_, Monokrome _thought to the dangling assassin, it's time you and I had a nice long talk_.

* * *

Sachel spun around to face her attacker quickly. As she spun, her hand went for three throwing stars that she kept in a place where Lexicon would never find them, just in case. All three were sent flying towards the spot where she had detected the villain, but when they struck the wall, he was nowhere to be found.

Sachel was unfazed. She had encountered this type of power before. A speedster, she thought. This is going to be interesting.

In an instant more shuriken were in her hands, ready to fly at a moment's notice. The moment never came, however. Whoever the villain was, he or she was gone. Just as well, Sachel thought, there wasn't a guarantee that she would've left him intact.

The villain mattered little, however. For that small moment, Sachel felt like her old self again. She _was _her old self again. How was that possible? Sachel left the church and ran back to her apartment, but she processed little of her journey home, her mind being in a place far away.

* * *

Vendettuh awoke to find himself wrapped in steel cables to a pole on the roof of a building. To his right, he saw his utility belt, with its contents surrounding it, his shuriken, his cables, even the communicator that Calculator had given him. To his right sat one of his pistols, and in front of him stood Monokrome, pointing the other one straight at him.

Beneath the shaded mask, Vendettuh raised an eyebrow, "What police training interrogation method includes the cop pointing the suspect's own gun at him?"

"It's called not taking any chances with you," Monokrome growled, having earlier stowed the clip away in one of his belt pockets, "I don't know much about you, but I have a feeling taking you down was far too easy."

"How flattering," Vendettuh said, his voice dripping with sarcasm and venom, "Do you really think Batman would approve using a gun though."

"Probably not," Monokrome got close to Vendettuh's face, "but then, he isn't here, now is he?"

Monokrome straightened, "Now, onto business, who are you?"

Vendettuh arched an eyebrow, "You haven't figured it out?"

Monokrome cocked the gun, "You haven't given me much time to, and all I've had to go on is that you know who I am and that you really don't like me."

Vendettuh sighed and shook his head, "Some detective." That's when he pressed a button in his gauntlet, causing one of his exploding shuriken to go off, distracting Monokrome just long enough for Vendettuh to break free of his bonds and snatch his pistols from the ground and from Monkrome's hand. By the time Vendettuh had the two pointed at the hero's head, however, Monokrome had his sword up and pressed to the villain's neck.

The two superhumans stood motionless for several seconds, the hostility almost palpable. Vendettuh broke the silence first to break the silence.

"If you want to know who I am," Vendettuh said, "G1-05-830510."

With that, Vendettuh dropped a smoke bomb, and when the smoke cleared, the assassin and all of his equipment were gone. Monokrome ran to the edge of the building in an attempt to catch the villain, but he was long gone. Instead, Monokrome headed back to his apartment. He had a GCPD case file to rsearch.


	5. Ch 5: Revelations

Grey Area Ch. 5

Revelations

Sachel opened the door to her apartment and slammed it shut behind her. She leaned against it and sank to the floor, her head in her hands. How was it possible? Such perception was a gift she had relinquished when she took her revenge on Nathan. How had she regained it? Sachel prayed that the Council hadn't noticed her relapse, for they would surely accuse her of cheating her punishment.

"Don't worry, we won't."

Sachel leaped back to her feet as a lone figure emerged seemingly from nowhere out of the shadows of the room's corner. The man was tall and imposing, blonde hair slicked back and wrapped by a golden band. A gold and white robe trailed past his knees and two leather gauntlets wrapped around his muscular arms. Above a short beard, the man's eyes glowed blue.

"You," Sachel breathed, and then, regaining her composure, bowed before the man, "I-I'm sorry, it's just that I didn't expect to see you here, master."

Her old mentor smiled, "Fear not, old friend, this visit is most peculiar, and not one I had ever expected to make, though I am not sorry for it."

Sachel cocked her head, "Not sorry for what?"

The man smiled, "Your actions over the past few years have not gone unnoticed, Sachel. Over the ages, we have seen you bond with the life we have exiled you to. We have watched as you studied Earth's technologies and have mastered its ways. We have watched as you learned to defend yourself using Earth's most deadly fighting abilities and weapons, and we have watched as you regained your flight due to your technology. In short, Sachel, we have watched you as you slowly regained the abilities that we have stripped from you."

Sachel felt a growing sense of dread growing in her stomach. Oh my gawd, she thought, I've been cheating my punishment the whole time, I wasn't even meaning to.

The man continued, "We have watched, Sachel, and we have listened. We have listened to your sense of sorrow, to your cries of anguish, and we have listened to soul's remorse, and after all this time, we are granted you a chance to redeem yourself."

Sachel couldn't believe her ears. Her mind almost couldn't comprehend what they were telling her. A chance to redeem herself? A tear rolled down her cheek. Could it possibly be true?

"W-why?" she croaked, the tears choking her words.

The man's smile shortened, "Because we believe you deserve to redeem yourself. Despite your sins, we feel you have deserve the chance of forgiveness. In short, we want you to come home, Sachel, and we believe it's time you have."

Sachel's mind was spinning. Home. After long last, she could finally return home? She could hardly believe it.

"But, why me?" another tear joined the first, "After all that I've done."

Her old mentor nodded, "You did many terrible things that day, Sachel, and you will have to live with what you did for the rest of your life. However, we have seen the guilt that has eaten you alive over the years, and we recognize that you have grown since your mistakes. The woman I see before me is not the vengeful being that burned those cities to the ground so many years ago. You have served your punishment, Sachel, and have earned the chance to atone for the crimes you have committed."

Sachel thought long and hard about what he was saying to her. Her mentor and his fellows had so much faith in how much she had grown that they were willing to give her a chance to make amends to those she had hurt and to be forgiven for it. Sachel could have never been more thankful to her masters, nor could she be more humbled at the responsibility they were giving her.

Sachel nodded, "What must I do?"

"There are some members of the council that would like to see proof that you have grown beyond the wrath you once felt. Once you can prove that to us, you may come home."

Sachel couldn't even try to imagine what it would take to convince certain members of the council, but deep down she knew nothing she could do on her own would be enough, and that the event that would be sufficient would have to happen outside of her control.

Sachel stood up straight and bowed as deep as she could, "Thank you, Master Gabriel," she straightened and looked at him eye to eye, "Whatever it takes, whatever I must do, I will not fail you again."

Gabriel smiled, slowly disappearing into the shadows, "I know you won't, Sachel."

Sachel felt a weight lift off her chest for the first time in what lifetimes. She sank to her knees, relief and happiness spreading through her body like a wildfire. The weight of this news, however, was not lost to her. Gabriel and the rest were confident that she had risen above the vengeful rage that had led to her fall from grace so long ago, while deep down, Sachel was not so sure.

* * *

Monokrome sat in front of a computer screen in the Watchtower's reference center, getting continuously more frustrated. The case number Vendettuh had given him was clear in his mind, but the GCPD mainframe blocked every attempt at accessing it. After the umpteenth failure, Monokrome pounded the desk in frustration. What was in the case file that was so damn important that it had to be kept from him?

"Having problems, new guy?"

Monokrome turned to see Nightwing standing in the doorway, a small smirk on his face.

Monokrome turned back to the computer, "Something like that," he admitted, "I'm trying to find a GCPD file that is supposedly linked to a new villain I've encountered, but the system won't let me near it."

Nightwing came over to have a look, intrigued (let's face it, when you're dating Oracle, you almost have to be a little interested in computers), "Well, the Watchtower network should let you access any GCPD files, no matter what clearance is necessary," he typed in a couple of things, and a message appeared on the screen.

"Deleted?" Monokrome read. "Why would a case-file be deleted?"

"Probably a corrupt cop doing a favor to a crime lord," Nightwing answered, typing a few more things, "Aha, it says here that it was deleted by an 'Arnold Davis'."

Monokrome nodded, it made sense. Davis was a partner of his on the GCPD for years. It broke his heart when Davis was arrested for corruption after he was caught stealing weapons from the evidence locker.

"Thanks for your help," Monokrome stood up, heading towards to the door.

"Off to speak to a friend?" Nightwing inquired with a smile.

"Exactly."

* * *

Arnold Davis walked into his apartment and flipped the light switch, only for nothing to happen. After flipping the switch a few more times, Davis gave up and walked into his living room, muttering something about the amount he paid for the electric bill. He didn't notice the costumed hero standing in the back of the room, but he did notice said hero using his mental powers to telekinetically pin Davis to the wall.

Davis struggled and yelled, but was quickly silenced by a long sharp blade pointed at his chest.

"Arnold Davis," growled the wielder of the blade, a voice that sounded vaguely familiar, though Davis could not place where he knew it.

"W-What do you want?" he stammered, "I-I don't have any money-"

"I have no interest in money," the figure spat at him, "I want information. Three years ago you deleted a case file from the GCPD mainframe. I want to know what was in that file."

"I-I don't know what you're talking about, I never deleted no file for nobody," Davis swallowed, realizing he had said too much.

The blade pressed against his throat, "Whoever said it was for somebody? A favor for Falcone, then?"

Davis paled, "All right, all right, I deleted a file for Falcone as a favor; he was able to pay off my rent for the month if I deleted the file."

"What was in it?"

"I don't know, he just told me to delete it, so I did." The blade pressed harder, "All right, all right, it was the case report for one of Falcone's hitmen, I don't remember his name. All I know is that the arresting officer was Richard Grare, my old partner. He might be able to tell you more."

Monokrome stood silent for a moment and then released his hold on the ex-cop. Davis fell to the ground and held his neck for a moment, but when he looked up, the dark figure was gone.

Monokrome prowled the rooftops of Gotham, thinking to all the arrests he had made and all the suspects that there were. It was a short list, and it took him no time flat to realize who it was that had a grudge against him.

Victor Hashan was one of Falcone's top hitmen, starting as a low-level thug but quickly rising through the ranks due to his sense of efficiency. He was a master at covering his tracks, and only had any crimes linked to him when he was caught when the police went in to arrest a drug lord that Hashan was in the middle of taking a hit on. Richard had chased him for twenty city blocks before he had finally been able to catch him. Hashan had been convicted on the account of attempted murder and was sentenced to forty years in prison.

Now he was free, empowered by an exobyte, and out to get the cop that had brought him down. The only question that remained was how Hashan had managed to learn Monokrome's identity. Monokrome pretended that it was a real mystery, but deep down Monokrome knew any half-ass detective could figure out who he was, all it took was the motivation to follow him home. He had even suspected Sachel had done just that one night when he looked out his window just in time to see a red and black blur pass his apartment window.

Not for the first time, Monokrome's thoughts wandered toward the Angel of Tech. He had met her in the Watchtower not long after his first mission, and the two had struck up a quick friendship. She was a friendly member of the Meta faction, and lived in Metropolis with a friend she had met in Magic. Sachel's charming nature was soothing to Monokrome; she was friendly, smart, funny, and a fierce fighter when she needed to be. It wasn't long before they started meeting after missions to talk whenever they weren't too bushed. Thinking on the fact, Monokrome still had the next day off, and while he was originally planned to spend it resting from tonight's chase, he considered meeting up with Sachel someplace and catch up seeing as she didn't come to the Watchtower after her mission with Bane, and when he asked Lexicon about it when he bumped into her, she ran off without a word, which seemed very out of character.

He arrived back at his apartment around midnight. By this time the police had already finished up processing the bomb site and the landlady had already confirmed that he wasn't getting is security deposit back, so Monokrome had little else to do but change out of his uniform before retiring for the night.


	6. Ch 6: Requital

Grey Area Ch. 6

Requital

Lexicon didn't return from her date until the break of dawn. She was praying that Sachel wasn't already up or she would never hear the end of it. Opening the door, her heart sank when she saw her roommate wide awake and standing on the balcony, watching the sunrise. Hoping to sneak back into the bedroom without Sachel noticing, Lexicon inched towards the open bedroom door, and had almost slipped through the doorway…

"Enjoy your date?"

Lexicon winced. Why did Sachel have to have such good hearing? It was almost unnatural. Lexicon sighed and joined her friend on the balcony.

"It was alright," she said, "The coffee shop was closed when we got there, so we went to a bar instead. It was quite nice."

Sachel smirked, still staring at the sunrise, "Nice enough to stay there all night?"

Lexicon blushed, and quickly changed the subject, "Well what about you? What did you so last night?"

Sachel smiled, "Wandered around town, visited a church, that kind of stuff."

Lexicon raised an eyebrow, "Church? You hate churches. Are you sure there wasn't a guy involved in all of this?"

Neither Sachel's gaze nor smile wavered, "Well, I guess you could say there was a guy."

Lexicon's face lit up, "See, that's why I tell you to go out more, you're always meeting new friends."

Sachel shook her head, "No, this was an old friend."

Lexicon smiled, "Must be a good friend."

Sachel nodded, but with a hint of sadness in her voice, "He was, one of the best I had ever had."

Lexicon nodded, and left it alone. It was becoming clear that there was something more to this than an old flame, but she decided to let it go, she knew by now that Sachel wouldn't tell her anything that she didn't want her to know, and this sounded like one of those things.

Lexicon walked into their bedroom to change into her gear but was dismayed to find Sachel's gear lain out on her bed. It wasn't fair, she was sure that the Angel's red mechanical wings, black trench coat, and tri-bladed katars were hidden in separate places that the Sachel would never find them.

"Sachel," she wined, "You weren't supposed to get that back until tomorrow. You still have the rest of the day off."

"I know," Sachel said, entering the room, "but I'm tired of having my feet on the ground."

She picked up her trench coat and replaced her Green Lantern hoodie with it. Noticing her friend's disapproving gaze, "I'm not going out on duty. I just want to fly around a bit." She fixed her wings into their joints on her back, and felt a sigh of relief as the flapping motion of her mechanical wings lifted her off the ground a few inches.

Lexicon glowered at Sachel for a few more seconds before huffing and changing into her own costume. Sachel had finished dressing herself, and as a final touch, closed her eyes tightly. She opened them a second later, her eyes now glowing white. Not for the first time, Lexicon wondered how she did that. Most tech-based heroes achieved the emissive eye effect through sonar lenses built into masks or contacts, but Sachel seemed to be able to make her eyes glow on a whim. Many had asked Sachel her secret, but she gave nothing away. Perhaps that was the one power she possessed that qualified her to be in Meta.

Sachel reached for her tri-bladed katars but Lexicon blocked her hand with her bow.

"Nope," she said haughtily, "If you're just going out for a fly then you'll have no need for those."

"Of course not," Sachel remarked sarcastically, "because villains never attack lonely heroes when it's obvious they're just out for a fly with no means of protection. Nope, that neeever happens." Sachel batted Lexicon's bow away and slipped her katars into their sheathes on her thighs. "Relax," she said, "I'm only bringing them just in case."

Lexicon looked unconvinced, but offered no further objection. "Well, since you're going out anyway, care to fly with me to the Watchtower? It would be nice to have some company."

Sachel nodded, and soon she was flying towards the Chinatown Police Station with her roommate.

* * *

Beelzebub tracked the flight of the two heroes from a few miles below them. He noted the friendship between Sachel and this bubbly young hero he had yet to encounter, and then focused his attentions on the Angel. Her guilt had been lessened and in its place, a blue ray of hope and happiness had appeared. Beelzebub made it his new objective to snuff out such things before he destroyed her. He needed to plan some more, however, so he would have to be content for now to simply watch, and wait.

Monokrome stood in the Watchtower's central hub, updating Vendettuh's profile with the information he had recently uncovered. He was so intent on his work that he failed to notice a tall imposing figure walk up behind him.

"I thought you were told to take some time off."

Monokrome turned to see Batman, his mentor, standing in front of him.

"I'm sorry," Monokrome said in a low voice, "but when a villain attacks you in the middle of the night at your own home, it's hard to simply sit down and rest.

Batman nodded, "I understand, but I have an important mission for you tomorrow and I want to make sure you're at your best."

With that, the Dark Knight turned and walked away.

Monokrome turned around and finished the update and turned around, only to have another mask in his face, this one belonging to a braided brunette.

Lexicon looked at him with a scornful look and with her arms crossed, "Why is it so hard for some people to take some time off? There are other heroes here, you know. It won't cripple the Justice League for you to take a weekend off."

Beneath his mask, Monokrome smiled, "What's wrong, Sachel being restless too?"

Lexicon smiled and shook her head, "The girl won't stay still. I had to hide her gear to keep her from going out, and even that doesn't stop her. Honestly, Sachel's a shark; she won't slow down for anything. It can be so aggravating sometimes."

Lexicon stopped when she realized she was starting to ramble, "So, anyway, what are you doing here."

"I was actually looking for Sachel," Monokrome stated, "Do you know where she is?"

* * *

Sachel stood motionless in the Hall of Heroes. Towering above her, three gigantic golden statues of the founders of the Justice League stood tall and proud. The golden faces of Batman, Superman, and Wonder Woman seemingly stared back at her, and Sachel felt like she was standing before her old master once again. The feeling of being two inches small was usually not welcomed amongst people, but to Sachel it carried with it a feeling of deep nostalgia.

"Humbling, isn't it?"

Sachel started and turned to see Monokrome standing behind her, looking up at the golden heroes.

"What are you doing here?" she said with a smile, "I thought you had the weekend off."

"That's what I heard about you," Monokrome responded, "I heard you bit off a bit more than you could chew with Bane."

Sachel folded her arms, "The brute got the drop on me."

Monokrome let out a small chuckle, "So what are you doing here? Shouldn't you be at home resting?"

Sachel scoffed, "And drive myself crazy with boredom? I don't think so. Not like you have any room to talk, showing up to work after being on the wrong side of an ambush."

Monokrome shrugged, "I figured since we both had the day off, maybe we could go out and do something."

Sachel raised an eyebrow, "What kind of something?"

Beneath his helmet, Monokrome smiled, "Anything interesting."

Sachel smiled, intrigued, "Now that you mention it, there is this club in Gotham that Lexicon told me about from her days at Gotham U. that I've been meaning to look into ever since she told me about it."

Monokrome couldn't help but be surprised. He didn't really peg Sachel for the nightclub sort. Lexicon? In an instant, but Sachel? "Oh? And what nightclub would this be?"

Sachel's smile widened, "It's called 'Club 539'."

Monokrome's eyes widened, "Are you crazy? Everyone on the street knows 539 is one of the villain's hideouts. We'd never get in, and if we did we would merely be surrounded by enemies."

"Monokrome and Sachel would be, but as simple paying customers, we would simply be two young people out for a good time. We could go in, have some fun, spy on the villains a bit, and no one would be any the wiser."

Monokrome couldn't believe what Sachel was suggesting, and could believe it even less that he was considering it. Monokrome knew it was a bad idea, but at the same time going sneaking right under the nose of the villains seems almost too intriguing to pass up.

"I don't know, Sachel. For one thing we'd have to see each other out of costume. Are you really ready to tell me who you really are?"

Sachel was taken aback. Sure, she had come up with a "real name" some time ago, but it had been ages since she had needed it. The League had never really asked, and they provided the apartment that she and Lexicon shared, so a name wasn't truly needed.

"My name…," she smiled, "is Kristin Rose."

Monokrome could not suppress his surprise at how easily she had given it. Sachel reached out her hand and looked at him expectantly, "And you are?"

Monokrome hesitated for a moment and shook her outstretched hand, "Richard Grare."

Sachel smiled, "It's pleased to meet you Richard."

"You as well Miss Rose."

They stood there for a minute in silence, letting the moment sink in.

"I'm going to regret this, aren't I?" Monokrome finally said.

"Probably," Sachel smiled.

* * *

Getting into the club was surprisingly easy. All it took was a small bribe to the bouncers at the door and Richard Grare and Kristin Rose were in the middle of the dance floor and surrounded by teenagers and college kids. The one thing that was not around was the horde of villains that one would expect to swarm such a nightclub, although both Richard and Kristin knew that they were around, simply out of sight.

Kristin looked around for a bit, then with a mischievous smile grabbed Richard's hand and dragged him out to the dance floor.

Richard's eyes widened, "What are you doing?"

Kristin grinned, "Having fun, remember?"

Kristin ignored Richard's protest and started dancing to the music, which she relieved to find wasn't actually that bad, at least compared to the trash the clubs in Metropolis played. Richard sighed and eventually followed suit, allowing himself to let loose for a while.

* * *

Behind the tinted windows leading to the VIP section of the 539 nightclub, red eyes burned beneath a demonic spiked helmet. Beelzebub had just returned from the Gotham Mercy Hospital doing a job for the Joker when he out of the corner of his eye, he saw a familiar bright light. He now watched the young couple, and noted with amazement that a large amount of the of Sachel's pain and guilt had subsided, now replaced with the hope he had seen earlier. The connection between her and the man she was with was also not lost to him, as the black and white attraction she felt was also flared, and Beelzebub did not need his new vision to recognize the way she looked at him.

Before he could examine the man she was with, however, Beelzebub was distracted by a sense of burning hatred nearby. Looking towards the mail room, Beelzebub saw the silhouette of a large man in a hooded cape facing the dancing young couple. Beelzebub smiled when he recognized Vendettuh, a villain he recognized from the Tech Wing in the Hall of Doom. He had noticed the burning hatred that all but consume the villain, and looking between the man dancing with Sachel and the hitman staring at him, Beelzebub realized he was presented with an interesting opportunity.

* * *

Vendettuh watched the detective dance on the dance floor with the woman he had come with. He could not decide whether he was insulted or impressed with the nerve Grare had shown by entering a well-known villain hideout, even if out of costume. He did not know who the woman was that he had come with, but seeing as Vendettuh knew that Monokrome had no one in his personal life, he assumed that she was a fellow hero, although what they could possibly want by entering an enemy base, especially since they didn't seem to be spying, was lost to him.

For a moment, Vendettuh considered that drawing out his revenge on the Detective was too risky, that ending his life right here and now would be the better option. He drew his energy pistols form their holsters and pointed them at the couple, who were dancing near the edge of the crowd. Smiling beneath his shaded mask, Vendettuh reveled at his final act of vengeance.

"Goodbye, Detective," he whispered, and pulled the triggers. The energy bolts never hit their targets, however, as a red and black blur interrupted them before it grabbed Vendettuh and pulled him into the mail room. Vendettuh shook off his abductor and turned to find himself face to face with an imposing figure clad in red and black demonic armor and a spiked helmet.

"Trying to kill paying customers? I don't think that's a kind of villainy the club-owners would appreciate."

Vendettuh recovered quickly, "Probably not, but those two weren't just some random civilians, they're exobyte victims, the kind that work for the Justice League."

Beelzebub nodded, "I know that, I just figured that you would be a man who likes his revenge sweet and slow, not through a stab in the back."

Vendettuh raised an eyebrow, we wasn't exactly open about his vendetta against Grare. "You seem to be well informed."

"Let's just say that I see things that most do not," Beelzebub replied. "It just so happens that the woman that is accompanying your prey is in my crosshairs, for reasons I shall keep to myself."

Vendettuh felt his patience wearing thin, "What are you proposing?"

"An alliance," Beelzebub said, "We both seek their destruction, so why not work together to achieve that end."

"I seemed to be doing fine on my own before you decided to interfere."

"True enough," Beelzebub agreed, "but I can see the hatred that burns in your heart for that man. Is it truly enough to kill him? Would you not enjoy instead seeing him suffer? Would you not feel satisfaction in seeing him beg for death before you bring him death?"

Beelzebub let his words sink in before uttering, "Or are you content with his last moments being happy ones."

Vendettuh thought about it for a few moments. His original plan was to simply have Richard simply know who it was that brought his end, but if this stranger could deliver on even half of what he was promising. Could he pass up to see Grare in pain?

"I assume you have a plan."

"Of course I do," Beelzebub stated plainly.

* * *

Oblivious to the plans against them both, Kristin was genuinely happy for the first time in many years. Getting Richard out onto the dance floor and getting him to enjoy himself coupled with the news of her possible redemption had made her feel lighter than she had ever felt before. For a moment she forgot the war with Brainiac, forgot the villains that surrounded her, even forgot the inevitable teasing she would receive from Lexicon for this miniature date. No, tonight, Kristin Rose was the happiest girl on this, or any, planet.

Richard on the other hand, while enjoying himself, was also extremely on edge. As if having to dance in public, not something Richard was ever comfortable doing, wasn't bad enough, they were also in a place that Richard knew was teeming with people that most likely wanted to tear them apart. It had also occurred to him as soon as they arrived that it was more than possible for Vendettuh could have very easily have either followed them to this place or could have just been there by chance and could alert the other villains. To top it off, he was also now dancing with a very beautiful woman who he had come to really like.

Kristin interrupted Richard's thoughts by grabbing his arm and twirling herself beneath it. She got close to him and shouted above the noise, "We're supposed to be having fun, remember?"

She grabbed his hands and forced him to move them in a more lively fashion then the way he was. Laughing at the flustered look on Richard's face, someone accidentally bumped into her, causing her to fall into Richard. Richard caught her in time, and the two tenderly looked each other in the eye. Monokrome went stone-faced while Sachel felt herself blush. Gingerly, the two's faces drew closer to each other…

And that was when the whole world went up in flame.


	7. Ch 7: Regret

Ch. 7 Grey Area

Regret

Fireballs flew from near the entrance of the 539 Club, causing the surrounding walls to burst into flame. The patrons screamed and fled for the exits. Kristin and Richard searched for the source, and eventually saw a red and black villain hurling fireballs from a side door. They looked at each other and nodded. They had left their main weapons behind, but they were not so irresponsible as to come in empty handed.

From within the confines of their clothes, Sachel pulled out two simple katars while Monokrome wielded a small dagger. Sachel also pulled out an explosive shuriken and hurled it at the villain. She chased after it, striking the villain after the shuriken had exploded in his face. Monokrome was about to follow suit when a steel cord with an electric current going through it wrapped around him. Monokrome convulsed as a thousand volt charge went through his body. He dropped to the ground and turned to see Vendettuh on the other end of the nightclub, his energy pistols blazing in his direction.

Monokrome dodged the projectiles as best he could, but three managed to hit him square in the chest. Sachel and he had been smart enough to wear their armor underneath their civilian clothes, but it still hurt. Vendettuh charged on the fallen detective, but Monokrome was quick to recover and sent a telekinetic wave slamming into the former hitman. Vendettuh was sent careening backwards, and Monokrome took the opportunity to press a button on a control in his pocket, transporting the rest of his costume to him from his fortified alcove. Thank you, STAR Labs.

Vendettuh leaped at the newly dressed hero and locked his guns with Monokrome's blade. Hashan saw the anger in the detective's and was pleased to know that he had finally remembered him.

"Pleased to see me again, Richard?" Vendettuh asked.

"Not as pleased as I would have been to see you fry," Monokrome growled. He pushed Vendettuh back and swung the flat of his blade at the villain's legs.

Meanwhile, Sachel was behind him trading blows with the demonic villain that had started the fire. The villain was fast, and focused his fire abilities into a swirling ball of energy that he used to parry Sachel's blades. He successfully landed a blow to her face, and while Sachel was careening he activated his super-speed and raced around her in a circle, striking her multiple times. The assault left Sachel dazed, and Beelzebub used the chance to skid behind her and send a hand blast at her. The blast hit her square in the back, and Sachel screamed as she dropped to the floor. She turned to look at the advancing villain and for a moment her perception reverted to the magnitude of colors and emotions, just as it did in the church. Like in the church, it only lasted a second, but it was just long enough to show her that this was the same speedster that attacked her in the church, as well as contempt for her that went beyond human vs. villain.

"Who are you?" she demanded, "And what do you want with me?"

"I am a seeker of justice," Beelzebub stated, "and justice is what I shall get."

Behind the two, Monokrome swiped at Vendettuh with his sword once more. Vendettuh quickly blocked it with the side of his pistol, but Monokrome was unfazed and just as quickly went for another blow at Vendettuh's legs. This blow was blocked as well, but Monokrome was quick and in a sudden change of tactics, hammered at Vendettuh with a flurry of multiple strikes from multiple angles. The sudden assault caught Vendettuh by surprise and ended up being struck multiple times. He quickly rolled away and opened fire on the black and white hero. Monokrome quickly rolled away, dodging most of the bullets, and with a strain a power, erected a telekinetic shield around himself and Sachel. Vendettuh's bullets bounced off of the shield, and yelled in frustration.

Monokrome smiled, "You never did care for anything that didn't come easy for you, Victor."

Monokrome lunged at the villain, spinning in midair and bringing his sword down hard on him. Vendettuh was dealt the full force of the blow, and was thrown towards the center of the dance floor. He looked up as Monokrome's shield started to fade, and with a smile, started blasting at the hero. Monokrome lifted his sword to parry the projectiles, but the bullets instead struck the multiple liquor bottles on the shelf above him. The alcohol sprayed all over Monokrome, and an ember from the ceiling, now ablaze, quickly set him on fire.

Sachel fared no better. The small drone she had summoned to aid in the battle had been destroyed almost as soon as she had summoned it, and Beelzebub was relentless in his assault. Swinging her recently obtained wings in a precise manner, she summoned a powerful whirlwind that managed to sweep the demon off of his feet.

Sachel gathered herself, "What kind of justice would one such as you seek? You're no tragic villain; you revel in the chaos you create."

Beelzebub brought himself up on one knee and let out a low chuckle, "No, Angel, you are the villain here. I merely seek justice for the lives you took so long ago."

Sachel felt herself freeze in disbelief, "What did you just say?"

"You heard me," Beelzebub sent a blast at Sachel's midsection, driving the breath from her lungs, and blasting her off of her feet. She landed hard on her back, and flames suddenly surrounded her. The smell of brimstone filled her nostrils and the wails and screams of the damned surrounded her.

"No," she whispered. The flames parted as Beelzebub walked through them.

"You ask what justice I seek," he said, "I seek justice for the thousands of people you butchered for your vengeance."

Monokrome felt the fire eating burning through his costume. His first attempts to pat it out were futile, and was more of a reflex than an actual attempt. Thinking quickly, he formed a telekinetic bubble around his body and expanded it, flinging the burning liquor off of him. He looked up only in time to see Vendettuh charging at him delivering a powerful uppercut via pistol whip. Monokrome felt his jaw crack as he crashed into the cabinet behind him.

Hashan grabbed Monokrome's collar and pulled him in close, "Was it really so easy to turn me in, Richard?"

"It became much easier the moment you betrayed us," Monokrome spat.

"I'm not the one who turned on a friend on a dime!"

Monokrome grabbed Vendettuh's wrist as the assassin went for another blow and crashed him into the shelf.

Monokrome pulled Vendettuh close and whispered into his ear, "David's widow would beg to differ."

With a final blow to Vendettuh's face, Monokrome's felt his foe slump. He dropped him to the floor, and turned to see Sachel on the ground with the demonic looking figure advancing upon her. He rushed to aid her but felt a Vendettuh's cable wrap around his ankle. He struggled for freedom, but before losing consciousness completely, Vendettuh sent the charge going through the cable. Monokrome convulsed and fell to the floor, helpless to do anything for his friend.

Sachel crawled backwards as Beelzebub advanced on her.

"You've hidden yourself on this plane for a long time, Sachel, but in the end your crimes always catch up to you. Everyone must pay for the crimes they have committed. You fashion yourself a hero? You see yourself as a seeker of justice? You are the very scum you try to eradicate. You scorn me for reveling in chaos, yet not even I have caused the death and destruction you have. You ask what justice I seek. I seek justice for the lives of the citizens of Sodom and Gomorra, and I name you as their murderer, Archangel Sachel!"

"NO!" Sachel screamed as she lashed out at the demon. Beelzebub caught her wrist and twisted it hard, causing her to drop to her knees in pain. His grip unrelenting, Beelzebub smiled underneath his helmet, "You hunt down murderers and thieves, yet you fight the retribution of the thousands of humans that you murdered in cold blood. Very unbecoming of a hero, even less so for an angel of God."

Sachel's tears flowed down her face both from the pain and as the guilt she had thought had she subdued threatened consumed her once again. Again, the faces of those she had killed surrounded her. Was this being truly the avatar of their retribution? Did she have the right to fight back?

A wave of mental energy crashed into Beelzebub, causing him to release his hold on Sachel. The Angel of Tech didn't have the time to look behind her before Monokrome's powerful hand grabbed her own as he rushed past her towards the exit. They met no opposition on the way, as all of the club's occupants had fled when the fire started and all of the resident villains had been warned of Beelzebub's and Vendettuh's plan before hand, and had fled the nightclub accordingly.

* * *

Once outside of the burning safe house, Monokrome held Sachel close and fired his grapple at the nearest building. By the time Vendettuh and Beelzebub made their way out, the two heroes were long gone.

"They got away," Vendettuh stated flatly, as if merely noting the weather conditions.

"It matters little," Beelzebub said just as plainly, "Unless you dithered, the plan was not to kill them, simply to rattle."

"Indeed."

Beelzebub turned to his partner, "Now for part two: I mentioned to you the third wheel of their wagon, did I not."

Vendettuh smiled, "Yes, I believe you did."

* * *

After several moments of travel, Monokrome and Sachel finally came to a stop on the roof of a building. Monokrome rolled upon landing on the roof and sprang to his feet facing behind them, sword in hand. After he was satisfied that they were no longer being pursued, Monokrome let loose a sigh of relief and sheathed his blade. He turned to Sachel only to find her crouched on the ground, weeping. Her sobs tore at Monokrome, for she had always had a light-hearted disposition to her.

Automatically, Monokrome's thoughts went to the things he heard Beelzebub say, the accusations he threw at the Angel of Tech. While he didn't give them much thought before, seeing Sachel like this, seeing the way the demon's words had on her, Monokrome could not help but feel worms of doubt creep into his mind. However, he knew this was not the time to discuss it.

Sachel jerked as he placed his hand on her shoulder, signifying that they needed to go. She nodded and dried her tears. Five minutes later they were parting by the nearest police station, Sachel using the teleporters to get back to Metropolis while Monokrome headed to his apartment.

Sachel arrived back at her apartment and was relieved to find Lexicon already sound asleep. She undressed and slid into her own bed, but tossed and turned for a good hour while the same terrible thoughts of fire and pain tortured her mind.

* * *

Richard quickly gave up sleep. Thoughts of Hashan and what he had done before Richard had arrested him plagued his mind. Walking over to his desk drawer, he opened it and pulled out a picture of two cops. The one on the left as himself, shaven and slouching on the desk with his arms crossed in front of him, sporting a goofy smile. The cop standing next to him was a younger gentleman with short brown hair and a gangly build. He was doing his best to look professional, with one hand resting on his hip and the other hanging to his side. He was attempting to look as stone-faced as possible, but the smile he was trying to stifle still shone through. The name plaque on the desk they were in front of read "Det. David Flowers." The picture was taken two days before Richard had arrested Victor Hashan.

After staring at the picture for a few minutes, Richard put the photo back in the drawer. He tried to sleep, but it was in vain. Along with all the other thoughts that plagued his mind, another had managed to creep in that, while not as disturbing, was still rather unpleasant.

_Batman is NOT going to be happy with this._


	8. Ch 8: Reprimand

Ch. 8 Grey Area

Reprimand

Batman glared at the two heroes standing before him, both of their heads looking at the ground. Monokrome found himself wishing his mentor would say something already, and wished he could get out of the stifling confines of the Hall of Justice. As anyone who has experienced would tell you, it's no fun being subjected to the infamous "Bat-glare".

"I am NOT happy about this," Batman said after an agonizing eternity. "What the hell were the two of you thinking, charging straight into a villain base without authorization or backup? You both could have been killed."

They remained silent for a moment, unsure what to say when Batman sighed and turned away, "We'll discuss this later. Right now, go home, you're dismissed."

Sachel started, "Home, but sir, we were to return to active duty today."

Monokrome saw the smallest of smiles play across Batman's lip, giving him shudders.

"Superman and I reviewed your report from last night and decided it was best if you two took another day or two to recover from it."

The anger that flashed in Sachel's eyes didn't take a pair of detectives to notice, but it was quickly replaced by a small smirk, "Very well, if you wish for us to take more time from active duty, then we will. It will give us plenty of time to investigate the two villains on our own time."

Batman glared, "You will do no such thing."

"No?" Sachel retorted, "What rights have you to stop us? While we are on duty, you are our bosses, but when we are not, you have no say on what we do with our abilities. If you keep us from doing our jobs, we will seek after the villains that attacked us, and there is nothing you can do to stop us."

Monokrome stared at the Angel of Tech in disbelief. Never before had he heard of anyone talk to the Dark Knight like she just did, and if anyone had, he was sure they didn't have a membership to the League anymore….or a membership to the living for that matter. What unnerved him even more was her determination to get back at the villains who attacked them. The villain's accusations must have hit Sachel harder than he had initially realized, and it troubled him deeply.

Batman, on the other hand, almost looked impressed, "Very well, if you want to go back to active duty so badly, you're back on, but if you think I'm letting you off for your actions, you are dead wrong."

Batman pulled up two files on the Hall's computer. "I am assigning you both to separate duo missions. Sachel, you and your partner will be gathering reconnaissance on the Sinestro Corps in Metropolis. Monokrome, you and your partner will be investigating the tip we've received from Two-Face concerning the Penguin's smuggling operation. Sachel, you will be meeting your partner in the Metropolis Midtown Police Station; Monokrome, the Gotham Diamond District Police Station. They have the full details."

Sachel groaned internally. Batman sure knew how to punish. If there was any job she hated doing for the League, it was recon work. Monokrome wasn't so bad with it, being a detective and all, but for her it was pure torture.

Batman pointed out the door, "Now get out, you're both dismissed."

* * *

"You got off lucky," she whispered to Monokrome once they were outside of the Dark Knight's hearing range.

"I wouldn't be so sure," he whispered back.

"What do you mean?"

"I mean Batman isn't the type to just let me off easy just because I didn't talk back to him. I'm sure something about this mission is sure to be just as punishing for me as yours is for you."

Sachel smiled, "Well I'd certainly hope so. I'd hate to think that you were off having fun while I was being tortured by the monotony of stakeouts."

Monokrome smiled and met her gaze, and their eyes locked like they had the night before. Sachel blushed and turned away. They hadn't yet discussed the moment they had in the nightclub, and they couldn't help but try to avoid the topic.

"W-well I got to go," Sachel said awkwardly, and went off for the Metropolis Midtown teleporter.

"Yeah me too," Monokrome said quietly. He turned and headed for the Gotham Diamond District teleporter. Before he got to it, he could not help but stop and look back at the Angel he had come to care for, but she had already disappeared around the corner. He sighed and stepped into the Zeta beams that sent him to Earth. When he stepped out of them and into the Police Station, it became very clear to him very quickly how Batman had meant to serve him punishment for the raid on the nightclub.

His partner for the mission had been waiting for him at the teleporter, and now that he was there, she was standing in front of him, her eyes seemingly trying to murder him for all the venom they contained.

"Oh," he said, "Hello Lexicon."

* * *

Sachel's partner was a lightning wielding meta-human under the name of Specter Levitas. He was a tall man wearing a white organic-like bodysuit and a white hooded cape. While his face was lost behind the glow it emitted, he seemed friendly enough, and before long they were both flying towards Metropolis City Hall, where Sinestro and his corps had themselves holed up.

"Our job is to find a way inside to install surveillance equipment," Levitas explained, "and then listen in on Sinestro to gather as much info as we can before Stewart and his team go in after him."

"That's it?" Sachel asked, "They really need two heroes just for that?" Could this mission get anymore mind-numbingly simple?

"While the risk is low, it's possible that we might get caught in the middle of installing the surveillance. If we do, we have a chance on fighting our way out, which you can't say for an average SWAT team."

"Oh," Sachel said, "Well I guess that makes sense."

Levitas swerved in front of Sachel and stopped her in mid-air, "That does NOT mean, however, that you should allow yourself to get noticed just so you can get some action in. If we get caught, that will mean Sinestro will be alerted to our actions and the entire operation will be blown. Stewart and the Lanterns will be forced to go into an engagement with no intel and with enemies that will see them coming. If we get caught than it will cost the Lanterns many lives."

Sachel was taken aback, "Where did that come from? I wasn't planning to get caught so I could get in a fight," despite that very thought going through her head a second before.

Levitas got closer, "I've heard about you, Angel of Tech. Your hotheadedness and your thirst for combat are well-known throughout the Meta Wing, and it would surprise nobody if you would blow a reconnaissance mission just so you could knock a few heads together."

His tone was completely calm, but Sachel understood the warning that came with his comments. Her recklessness already put her under Batman's thumb; it wouldn't do her any good to seek action on a reconnaissance mission that was set up as reprimand.

Fortunately, Sachel and Levitas were able to place the sensors and equipment successfully, and it wasn't long that they were sitting on a rooftop not too far off, earpieces feeding them, and the Corps, information. Sachel leaned back on the rooftop, bored. In that moment, she would've given anything to switch places with Monokrome.

Monokrome really wished he could switch places with Sachel at the moment. After an hour being subjected to the "Bat-glare", he would've been confident to say that little else would have been able to faze him. However, he had never before been subjected to the "Motherly-nature-of-Lexicon-suddenly-gone-sour-gla re" before, and now that he had, suddenly being in the same room as an angry Batman didn't seem so bad.

Lexicon stared at him for a full minute, and when she opened her mouth, the whole police station knew it.

"WHAT IN THE NAME OF HELL WERE YOU TWO THINKING!?" Lexicon shouted, "WHAT KIND OF IDIOT DECIDES THAT THEY'RE JUST GONNA WALTZ INTO A VILLAIN SAFEHOUSE AND THEN BURN IT INTO THE GROUND!? YOU BOTH COULD HAVE BEEN KILLED!"

"Lexicon, I-," Monokrome started.

"I'M NOT FINISHED!" Monokrome shut his mouth immediately, "HOW COULD YOU HAVE LET HER TALK YOU INTO SUCH A HAREBRAINED IDEA!? SHE WAS STILL RECOVERING FROM BANE FOR GAWD'S SAKE! IT'S A MIRACLE SHE WASN'T PUT INTO A HOSPITAL! AND DID YOU SEE THE STATE SHE WAS IN WHEN SHE CAME HOME!? WHATEVER HAPPENED IN THERE HURT HER IN MORE WAYS THAN JUST ONE! I HAD NEVER BEEN MORE WORRIED IN MY ENTIRE LIFE!"

Monokrome looked down at the floor, "So that's what this is about. It's not just us going to the nightclub you're mad about; it was what that bastard did to her."

Monokrome looked back up with a burning gaze, "I know exactly how badly it hurt her, Lex, I was there. Don't think I didn't see what that did to her."

Lexicon looked Monokrome in the eye for another minute before turning away, "If something like that ever happens to her again, I will hold you personally responsible for not hurting the bastard just as badly." With that final declaration, she made her way to the door.

"That makes two of us," Monokrome whispered under his breath. He caught up with Lexicon on her way out of the room. "So what's this about Two-Face putting in a tip on the Penguin?"

"Dent hacked his way into the Watchtower last night and left a lot of intel about the Penguin's smuggling operation. Locations, sale figures, base of operations, Dent left it all. He claims to be trying to do the right thing for a change, but Batman feels that Dent is just trying to take over the operation himself. Still, the amount of intel was too immense to ignore, so Batman is having us check out the location Dent marked as the Penguin's hideout. If we find out Penguin is there, we are to head back to Batman and tell him what we've found."

"Sounds like fun," Monokrome dryly stated.

"Don't count on it, Krome-boy," Lexicon hissed.


	9. Ch 9: Reconaissance

Ch. 9 Grey Area

Reconnaissance

Sachel had been pacing on the roof for what felt like days. She tried to focus her mind on the assignment on hand, but it kept wandering back to the events of the night before.

_There's no way that demon was who he said it was, _she thought to herself._ Gabriel said there was a chance of redemption, why would I be targeted now?_

_ But if he isn't who he said he was, _the darker part of her mind reminded her, _how else would he know of Sodom and Gomorra? Is it possible…?_

Sachel could barely stand forming the thought of the possibility, _is it possible that the Gabriel we saw wasn't who he thought it was? Is it possible he was an imposter, and this villain is the herald of the Council's true punishment?_

Sachel couldn't believe that she even considered the possibility that someone could pose so convincingly as the Angel she had known for so many years, but what other possibility was there? How else would that villain know who she was and what she had done?

Levitas was not unaware of her inner turmoil, "What troubles you Tech Angel?"

Sachel huffed, "In case you haven't figured this out, I hate recon jobs. I'm a creature of action, I need something to do."

While she couldn't see his face, Sachel detected a smile from her partner, "Is that really all that bothers you?"

Sachel felt her stomach tighten, "What kind of question is that? What else would there be?"

Levitas let out a small chuckle, "Hiding your emotions does not seem to be a specialty for yours, Sachel. It does not take much imagination to realize that there is more eating at you than mere boredom."

Sachel glared at her partner for a full minute before snatching up a pair of headphones and recording the words that were coming from the other end. Levitas sighed before returning to his own work.

* * *

Monokrome and Lexicon didn't take long at all to confirm Penguin's location. Monokrome couldn't be happier for this, as Lexicon hadn't said a word to him since they left the police station, leaving a tense silence he could run his sword through. As they made their way back to the Watchtower, Lexicon demanded they stop on a nearby rooftop.

Monokrome had never seen Lex look so anxious. "What's wrong?"

Lexicon stood silent for a brief second before asking, "What did he say to her?"

"What?"

"What did the villain say to Sachel? Whatever it was, it shook her to the core, and I want to know what he could've said to mess her up so much."

Monokrome didn't know what to say. He knew what it was that the villain had said to her, but hadn't allowed himself for a second to believe it. Still, seeing how it had affected his friend, he couldn't help but have his doubts. Did he really want to burden Lexicon with the same?

"He…"

Lexicon grabbed Monokrome's collar and brought it down to her eye-level, "Don't you dare lie to me, krome-boy, I need to know how that bastard was able to get to her like that."

"He merely uttered the truth."

Lex and Monokrome wheeled around, weapons drawn, to see Vendettuh and a villain clad in a brown trench coat wielding a large rifle standing on the other side of the building.

Lexicon was perplexed, "What do you mean by that?"

Vendettuh chuckled, "Beelzebub merely reminded the dear angel of the demon she truly was. The truth hurts, after all."

Lexicon fired an arrow at Vendettuh's skull, which was deflected by the other villain's rifle.

Vendettuh looked more annoyed than anything. "If you would be so kind, Lance."

The brown-clad villain leaped at Lexicon, who charged at him in return. Monokrome leapt at Vendettuh, who parried his blow with his pistols. The villain called Sgt. Lance swung the butte of his rifle at Lexicon, who deflected it with ease before striking the ground, causing a group of vines to erupt from underneath her foe and tangle him up in their grasp. Lance struggled as hard as he could, but the vines were too strong for him to break free from. Tapping into his newfound his abilities, he burst the vines with a blast of cold, causing the water in the vines to freeze, shattering them instantly. Lexicon didn't miss a beat, however, and instantly struck him in the head with a weighted trick arrow, instantly knocking him out.

Monokrome was not faring quite as well. While Vendettuh had not gained any ground on him, neither had he. Every move they would send at each other would be countered by the other. Vendettuh sent an explosive shuriken at him, only for it to be sent back via mental wave. Monokrome sent a telekinetic blade at Vendettuh, only for the villain to dodge around them.

Monokrome charged Vendettuh and locked his blade with the villain's guns.

"What's your stake in this, Hashan, what do you get from targeting Sachel?"

"Simple, Grare, the more Beelzebub hurts her, the more it hurts you"

Sgt. Lance sprung from the ground and froze the roof over at the same time Vendettuh dropped a smoke bomb. When Monokrome and Lexicon recovered, they saw both villains fleeing in opposite directions.

Monokrome growled, "You go for Mr. Winter Soldier, Vendettuh's mine."

Lexicon nodded and went in the direction of the ice villain, while Monokrome took off after Hashan.

* * *

The sun was low in the sky when Levitas straightened up.

"We've learned enough. The Lanterns should have no problem clearing out Sinestro now.

"Finally," Sachel leaped to her feet and immediately went to fly away.

"Wait."

Sachel paused in midair, "What's wrong?"

Levitas stood silently for a moment, choosing his next words carefully.

Unfortunately, he never got the words out. No sooner did he open his mouth did flame surround the two heroes. Before either of them could identify the source, a tiger skinned woman in a black, blue, and yellow unitard leaped onto Levitas, trying to embed her axe into his head. Sachel went to his assistance, but was blasted aside by a burst of flame. Sachel recovered quickly and turned to see Beelzebub bearing down on her. Sachel felt her anger boil over at the sight of the villain. _Persistent bastard, _she thought.

Sachel leaped at her opponent, driving a knee into his abdomen. Fazed, but undeterred, Beelzebub grabbed onto Sachel and slammed her onto the ground. Sachel activated a tech shield, throwing Beelzebub off of her.

Sachel leaped off onto her feet and faced the villain.

"Who the hell are you!?"

"I told you who I am," Beelzebub said, "I am the avatar of your victims' vengeance!"

Sachel dodged a fireball, "You're just another villain! You're no one's 'avatar'!"

Beelzebub laughed as he focused his beams into a strait beam, "How else would I know of your sins, Sachel? How else would I know the crimes of your past?"

Beelzebub secretly thanked his knew sight for this new information. It was a long time before Beelzebub was able to decipher exactly what it was that fueled such raging guilt within this woman, but when he did, he almost couldn't believe the opportunity it had given him.

Sachel tried to come up with an answer, but before she could, the tigress woman that had jumped on Levitas blasted her in the back with an arc of lightning, just before Levitas leaped to his feet and knocked her out with a blow to the head.

Levitas charged at the flame villain, who blasted the hero off of the roof without a word. Leaning down, Beelzebub whispered into Sachel's ear.

"You expect to die, but you deserve far worse than that. In order to truly be punished for what you have done, you must first suffer. Only after you have been dealt unimaginable agony do you have the right to the release of death."

Straightening up, Beelzebub doused the flames. "As much I would love to stick around and torture you more, I have business in Gotham."

He turned to leave, but before he left, he turned and added in a voice dripping with venom, "I hope you said good-bye to your roommate this morning."

And with that, he was gone.

Sachel gasped and struggled to her feet. She ran to the edge of the building she saw the villain gone.

"Lexicon," she gasped. She reached for her JLA earpiece, "Manhunter, I need emergency transport to the Watchtower!"

Hearing nothing, she realized that Beelzebub had snatched her earpiece while she was down.

"Damnit," she breathed. She turned to see the tigress woman gone and Levitas making his way back to the rooftop, electricity crackling around his hands, "What happened?"

"They got away," she muttered, "and he's going to target my friend in Gotham! You need to contact the Martian and get us to the Watchtower!"

Levitas reached into his ear ad plucked out a fried communicator. "They knew what they were doing," he grumbled.

Sachel growled in frustration and smashed the ground. "There must be a hero somewhere around here that can help us!" she yelled.

* * *

Monokrome growled in frustration. Vendettuh's trail disappeared without a trace about half an hour into the chase, and he found himself far from where he and Lex last saw each other.

He tried to pick up the trail again, but it became clear that it was a lost cause. He was about to radio for Lexicon when his earpiece crackled to life.

"Monokrome, come in, this is Batman."

"Monokrome here, what's wrong."

"We have a problem, where is Lexicon?"


	10. Ch 10: Regicide

Ch. 10 Grey Area

Regicide

Lexicon burst through the door to the warehouse that she had seen Sgt. Lance go into, arrow knocked and ready on her bow. The warehouse was quiet, but she had never encountered this villain before, so she was more than prepared for the man to be sneaking around. She rounded one row of boxes to the next, keeping great care to be aware of behind and above her. After the end of the rows, Lexicon went for the door in the back, only to find it locked on from the inside.

Lexicon turned back and scoped out the rafters. Flying up to the top, she looked down upon the warehouse floor and found no sign of the villain's whereabouts.

A loud noise in the direction of the door she had entered through caught her attention. Flying over to the door, she found it closed shut. She tried to force it open, but it wouldn't budge. She attempted to radio the Watchtower, but all she got was static. An uneasy feeling crept into Lexicon's stomach. What was going on?

She made her way back to the center of the warehouse, explosive arrow knocked and primed, and every sense was on high alert. She wasn't sure who was playing with her head, but what she was sure of was that they'll be sorry that they did.

A faint rustle sounded behind her. Lexicon whirled around and was about to let her arrow loose when she was quickly struck by a seemingly invisible force straight to her stomach. The she lost her grip on her bow, causing the explosive projectile to let loose and strike the floor in front of Lexicon. The explosion knocked her back and left her dazed, but she was still just enough aware of her surroundings to find no sign of her assailant.

_A speedster, _she thought. _Could it be the same…?_

The lights of the warehouse burst to life above her, and at either end of the room, two imposing figures emerged from the shadows, one's identity hidden beneath a gray hood and shaded mask, the other a black and red helmet.

The hooded figure spoke let out a slow chuckle, "So, this is the great and powerful Lexicon." Lexicon felt the sarcasm and glee in his voice, and singled out a particularly painful arrow for him.

The black and red clad villain's body language suggested equal amusement, "And I thought this would be difficult."

They made their way down the row towards the dazed hero, who felt a cold fury spark inside her. Leaping to her feet, Lexicon fired a smoke arrow into the air, which split off into dozens of tiny smoke bombs into the air, creating a wide blanket of thick cover. Vendettuh barely had time to recover from the surprise move when Lexicon was suddenly leaping out of the thick fog, bringing her armored fist to his non-armored face. Lex gave him no time to recover, quickly following up with a swift uppercut from her bow, connecting the weapon with his jaw. Vendettuh quickly retaliated with a swift blow with the butt of his gun. Lex tried to recover but was quickly blasted from behind by Beelzebub. She quickly rolled to the side and let loose a volley of explosive arrows, forcing the villains to seek cover as the world around them exploded. Beelzebub started firing multiple blasts in her direction. She ducked them and ensnared him with a thorny vine. He quickly cocooned himself in fire, burning the thorns off. Unfortunately, the fire did nothing to consume the toxic spores the burning vines emitted, and they quickly filled his helmet, choking him.

Lex's assault was cut short, however, by Vendettuh getting to his feet. The villain leapt backward into the air, hurling explosive shurikens at the hero's back. Lex backflipped out of the way and swung her leg at Vendettuh. Her foot connected to the side of his head, sending him reeling to the side. Vendettuh swung his weapons in her direction firing them wildly. Lexicon dodged the bullets, but flinched internally as she felt them rip through her cape. She dealt a devastating blow to the villain's head and turned to face the fire villain, only to immediately crane her head in order to dodge his hand blasts.

Beelzebub had removed his helmet to reveal a face seemingly made of lava. He fired blast after blast in her direction, but Lexicon took off into the air and proved herself to be as evasive as any other flier he had met. Aiming towards the spot he calculated she would go, his blast struck her directly in the side. Lexicon cried out in pain and crashed onto the upper catwalk.

Lexicon cringed as she crouched onto the catwalk. Beelzebub's blast had gone through her armor and left a severe burn on her side. Lexicon looked up and saw a door at the far end of the walk. Lex quickly decided that she needed to get away from these two; she would need to get out if this warehouse as quickly as possible and into the open. Hopefully then she could radio the Watchtower and get herself some backup. Lexicon nocked her last explosive arrow into place, she ran for the door.

She never made it.

Figuring out her plan, Beelzebub focused his infernal energy more than he ever had before, and sent an arc of red lightning at the metal catwalk. The electricity connected and Lexicon screamed as pure pain surged through every limb of her body. The combined stress of the lightning and the flames underneath proved too much for the catwalk's rigging to take, and it gave out underneath Lexicon's feet, sending her crashing ten feet down onto the warehouse's hard concrete floor.

* * *

Sachel sped through the air of Gotham as quickly as her wings would allow her. She had gotten to the Watchtower via the Emergency Teleportation System and made her way to the nearest Gotham teleporter faster than anyone could stop her as Superman fed the coordinates of Lexicon's location into her ear.

"Don't worry, Sachel," he had said. "She'll be ok."

"I hope you're right," she had said, but for some reason, she couldn't shake the feeling that Lexicon was in more danger than she realized.

_I'm coming Lexicon._

* * *

Lexicon struggled to get up as she heard footsteps approaching her. She looked up to find herself at Beelzebub's feet, red lightning crackling in his fist

"I must admit, you are far more trouble than we had anticipated. However, it matters not. You will die here tonight, Lexicon, and so will begin the suffering of Sachel. I must thank you for your hand in this my dear."

Lexicon's rage boiled at the villain's last sentence. How dare this bastard…

The explosive arrow was still nocked in her bow. Using what strength she could muster, Lexicon let the arrow fly between the demon's legs causing it to explode directly behind him. This caused Beelzebub to fly forward only to be met by a devastating uppercut from Lexicon's bow. Beelzebub landed on the ground hard, dazed. When he looked up, Lexicon was struggling to stay standing, but managed to have an electrical arrow pointed at the Arch-demon. Despite the burn on her side, the blood trickling down her face, and the tremors going through her body, Beelzebub saw she was brightly lit with an almost blinding determination like he had never seen.

Lexicon struggled to keep her hand steady, but she kept her arrow pointed straight at the villain ensuring he wouldn't move. Beelzebub's sudden lack of concentration had caused the flames around them to fade out, but Lexicon was sure the smoke would alert the local authorities to her presence. They would alert the League, and this adventure would be over soon enough.

That was the last thought that entered her mind before the resonating gunshot rang through the warehouse and the last thing Lexicon thought before she felt the hard thump in her chest. It caused her to lose grip on the bow, causing the arrow to fly harmlessly into the darkness. Lexicon looked down and saw a circle of blood forming on her chest, right below her heart. She looked back up to see Vendettuh limp out of the shadows, his gun still smoking and pointing strait at her. Vendettuh replaced the clip and pointed the gun back at her.

She heard the bullets fly through the air, and felt them penetrate deep into her body. The shock from the impact had all but numbed the pain, leaving only room for disbelief and fear in Lexicon's mind. Almost in slow motion, she fell to her knees, and through fading vision saw the two villains converge onto the fallen hero, now gasping from air. A tear formed in Lexicon's eye as Vendettuh point the gun at her one last time.

_Sachel…Monokrome…I'm so sorry._

A flash of light, a fleeting pain, and then there was nothing...but darkness.

* * *

Vendettuh and Beelzebub stared at the fallen hero at their feet for a moment. Without taking his eyes off of Lexicon, Vendettuh said to his cohort "Burn it down. I want everyone to see this."

"With pleasure," Beelzebub said, igniting his hand and turning to spread it across the warehouse.

Vendettuh turned and placed retrieved a fireproof suitcase with a shuriken emblem on the case. He opened it up and reached inside his armor to pull out a note labeled "Detective Grare." He placed the letter inside the case and sealed it shut. He turned with his partner and together they left the scene of a murder.

* * *

Sachel's heart froze in its place. No sooner did her destination come to view did the flame and smoke begin to billow out of it.

_Oh God, please no._

Pushing her wings more than she thought were possible, Sachel sped for the warehouse.

* * *

Monokrome saw the smoke and flame billowing in the distance, and immediately ran for the location. As he ran, he thought he caught a glimpse of the two villains heading in the opposite direction, but when he stopped to look back, they were gone.

Monokrome reached the warehouse to find the flames put out, the ruins of the building smoldering in the night.

The Grey Warrior walked through what was left of doorway to find it seemingly empty. A sound caught his ear. He walked past to find Sachel crouched down, sobbing. He rounded her and was stunned to see her cradling Lexicon's body in her arms.

"Sachel…" he whispered. Sachel looked to up to meet his gaze with sheer pain and agony in her eyes.

"I was too late," she croaked. Monokrome couldn't believe what he was hearing; his brain was unable to process what his eyes and ears were screaming at hm. And yet, for all his denial, for all his disbelief, nothing could change the fact that Sachel held cradling in her arms: Lexicon was dead.


	11. Ch 11: Remorse

Ch. 11 Grey Area

Remorse

The Justice League held a service for Lexicon in the Hall of Heroes of the Watchtower. Despite the danger that the heroes faced on a daily, heroes killed in action were not a completely common occurrence, and when one did fall, the League made sure they did what they could to honor the hero's memory. Lexicon was no different. They erected a memorial hologram of her in the Hall, as was customary, alongside a hologram of the first Question and a young blonde archer dressed in green.

Many heroes attended the service, including Wonder Woman, Superman, Batman, Martian Manhunter, Specter Levitas, and many more that neither Monokrome nor Sachel tried to recognize. Lexicon was always friendly to those around her, and her loss was felt by many.

Sachel barely made it through the eulogy. When it was done, she left and flew off to be alone. Monokrome moved to go after her, but Batman pulled him aside.

"We canvased the area," he said. "The damage done to the building as well as Lexicon's wounds seem to be consistent with the two villains you and Sachel described to us."

Monokrome nodded, he expected as much.

"We also found this," Batman produced the black case that Vendettuh had left behind. Monokrome took it and set it on a nearby table. He snapped open the clasps and opened the case to reveal nothing but a small white note:

"_Another dead for your mistake. How many more must die before you pay for your betrayal?"_

Monokrome read and reread the note, his anger beginning to rise. "What does it mean?" Batman asked.

"I have no idea," Monokrome lied, and got up from the table, "There's somewhere I need to go."

And without another word, the ex-detective headed for the nearest Gotham teleporter.

* * *

Sachel sat in the rafters above the Central Hub. She was holding a small holographic projector that was currently displaying the picture Lexicon had insisting taking of the two of them together when Sachel had first moved in with her.

"_Because we need to remember this stuff, Miss Sachel," Lexicon said to her flustered new roommate, "If we're going to be living together, we might as well start being friends now. Now smile."_

A tear rolled down Sachel's cheek. _I'm so sorry, Lexicon._

* * *

Richard Grare walked down a dark alley wearing civilian clothes. This particular alley was relatively unimportant to most people, but in this moment it might as well have been Richards Park Row. He stopped in front of a dumpster and pushed it away. On the wall behind it, a small bloodstain had been left untouched for years.

"It's hard to remember that night isn't it?"

Richard turned to see Victor Hashan standing in the entrance to the alleyway. He had discarded his costume for a leather jacket and jeans. He was a lean man with unkempt sandy brown hair and dark brown eyes. Light scruff had begun to accumulate under his chin.

"What's to remember?" Richard said, "I had a friend murdered by someone I thought I could trust."

Victor's snarled, "David's death was an accident."

"I'm sure his wife will take great solace in that." Richard growled.

Victor looked down at the ground.

"Five years," he hissed. "I spent five years risking my life as your informant on Falcone. I gave you and David more than you could possibly dream for. I hold one thing back, and all that gets blown in the wind."

"One thing?" Richard couldn't believe what he was hearing. "Being Faclone's most trusted hitman is just one thing !? We protected you because you told us that you were nothing more than Faclone's errand boy, and yet, you went around murdering people behind our backs!"

Victor smirked, "You really think the lives of drug dealers and gang bangers were worth destroying our friendship over?"

Hashan sighed, "You know, I actually let you catch me that night because I felt you would understand. I figured our partnership would be enough for you to let it go. Can you imagine how betrayed I felt when I turned around to find your gun in my face?"

"Not as betrayed as I felt when you turned around and shot David."

Victor flinched, "I…"

"And nowhere near how betrayed I felt when you killed Lexicon."

After a moment, Victor smiled, "If it's any consolation to you and your little angel friend, she didn't go down easy. Beelzebub could hardly stand by the time we left."

Richard's anger rose, but he fought to keep it in check, "I never saw you as the type to let someone like that demon pull your strings the way he has."

Victor couldn't help but laugh, "Oh somebody's pulling the strings, all right, but it's not Beelzebub."

Richard was confused, "What do you mean."

"Beelzebub's being played just as much as I am, the only difference is I realized it from the moment he came to me with his little vendetta."

"Why would you let yourself be someone else's puppet?" Richard inquired.

"Morbid curiosity," Victor admitted. "Whoever the true puppet master is, he or she is going through a lot of trouble to get to your girlfriend. I'd be lying if I said that I didn't want to see how it all turned out."

"What?" Richard said in disbelief. "You…you killed Lexicon…out of curiosity!?"

"No," Hashan snapped, "I helped Beelzebub kill that bitch to get back at the man who betrayed me. I killed her to get to you."

Richard lunged at the man before him, but when his had reached the Hashan's collar, it went right through. Hashan laughed as his hologram started to phase out.

"Nice try, old man, but I trusted you not to bring me in once in this alley. It's not going to happen again."

With that, the assassin was gone. Richard roared in frustration as the hologram faded from existence. After a moment, Richard managed to collect himself enough to head back to the Watchtower.

* * *

Monokrome exited the Gotham teleporter. He looked around for Sachel, but could not find her anywhere.

"Monokrome, is it?"

Monokrome turned to see the hero Sachel referred to as Specter Levitas approaching him. "Levitas," Monokrome said, "Is there something I could help you with."

"There are many things we need to discuss. Do you know somewhere we can talk?"

Monokrome hesitated for a minute before nodding. After a few minutes they found an empty conference room. Monokrome shut the door behind them and locked it shut.

"Ok, what's so urgent?" he said, turning to Levitas.

Levitas said nothing. Instead, the light that covered his face began to spread. Soon, it enveloped his whole body, and when it faded, the superhero was replaced by a tall and imposing man with slicked back gold hair held by a headband, a white and gold robe, and glowing eyes that shone above a golden beard.

"My name is Archangel Gabriel," the man said, "and I came here to talk to you about Sachel. I believe you've earned the right to know exactly who she is."


	12. Ch 12: Rememberance

Ch. 12 Grey Area

Remembrance

Kristin Rose stood in the shower of her and Lexicon's apartment, letting the warm water cascade around her. Entering the place she and Lexicon had once shared took a toll on the Angel, and now as she stood in the shower, images of her friend flooded her mind like a tsunami.

_Lexicon hopped to greet her new roommate at the door with the biggest smile and an outstretched as Sachel entered the apartment with nothing but a medium-sized suitcase. "Hi, I'm Lexicon."_

_ "Sachel," the Angel said, taking her hand._

_ "Sachel?" Lex said, "That's an…interesting name."_

_ Sachel smirked, "And what about Lexicon? I must admit, I don't see what a dictionary has to do with plant life."_

_ Lexicon smiled widely, "Touché, mademoiselle. It's a nickname from high school. I felt it was very…me."_

_ Sachel cocked her eyebrow, "How do you get a nickname like that?"_

_ "I guess you could say that's my little secret," Lex winked, "Now then, I was hoping I could take the bed closer to the door, but if you would rather have it then I guess…"_

Sachel closed her eyes tightly, trying her best to shut the images out.

* * *

Monokrome stared questioningly at Gabriel, "What do you mean 'who she really is?' I know what I need to know about her."

Gabriel smiled, "An admirable notion. I'm pleased to hear that you truly do care for her. That is why I feel you of all people deserve to know the truth about her."

Monokrome considered it for a moment. A very short moment.

"If there's something I absolutely need to know about Sachel, I'm sure she'll tell me herself," he decided. He started for the door, but felt Gabriel's hand on his shoulder.

"You must understand," the Archangel said, "Sachel wants to tell you more than anything. However, I've seen her heart. No matter how much she might want to, she'll never be able to bring herself to tell you what she's done. The shame she would feel would be too great for her to handle. As much as we would all like to believe otherwise, this is the only way you could know."

Monokrome hesitated. He knew he shouldn't even be considering this, but he remembered the sheer agony Sachel had been through, and deep down he knew that this man was right when he said that Sachel would never be able to bring herself to tell him. She thought he didn't notice, but he saw her try, several times. The pain on her face was almost too much to bear.

"How do I know that what you're about to tell me will be the truth," he said quietly.

"There's nothing I can say that will absolutely prove that it is. However, I'm afraid that I'm going to ask you to trust me."

Monokrome paused for a minute. "Fine," he finally said. "Tell me who she is."

* * *

Kristin got out of the shower and dressed herself in jeans and a Superboy Hoodie. She needed to get out of the apartment. No matter how hard she tried, the memories of her fallen friend flooded her mind, and everywhere she looked meant a new memory, and every memory meant more pain.

Kristin headed for the door, but against her better judgment, she cast a glance into the kitchen where Lexicon had pulled her in for a surprise.

_Sachel had hung her trench coat in her closet and had just finished packing away her gear when she heard her new roommate call her into the kitchen. Sachel entered the room only for Lexicon to suddenly wrap her arm over Sachel's and turn them both facing a camera held by a potted vine Lex was controlling._

_ "We are taking a picture together," Lexicon beamed._

_ Sachel was caught by such surprise, her response came in the form of a stammer._

_ "W-why?" she asked._

"_Because we need to remember this stuff, Miss Sachel," Lexicon said to her flustered new roommate, "If we're going to be living together, we might as well start being friends now. Now smile."_

_Sachel was surprised, but after a minute, she allowed herself a small smile. Maybe this new life wouldn't be so bad after all._

Kristin looked back from the kitchen, trying to resist the memories, and with one final, regretful glance, she left the apartment.

* * *

Monokrome sat across from Gabriel in the conference room, waiting for him to begin. Gabriel looked like he was sorting out his thoughts, trying to figure out where to start.

"Sachel…" he started, "…is not a name she came up with to use as a superhero identity. It is her real name, from her days as an Archangel."

Monokrome cocked an eyebrow, "Sachel's an Angel? An actual, literal Angel?"

Gabriel nodded, "Yes. Much like the older pantheons, each of us was assigned an aspect of Earth and humanity's livelihood that we would work to guide and influence without directly interfering. Azrael is the Archangel of Death, Michael, the Archangel of War, and so on. Sachel was the Archangel of Justice."

Monokrome looked up, "Was?"

Gabriel bowed his head, "Five thousand years ago, Sachel and I initiated what was later known as the Holy Demon project. Back in those days, the security in Hell had many weaknesses, and it was not uncommon for demons to escape and cause misery amongst the humans. It soon became too much for us to handle, so Sachel and I decided to appoint an Earth-bound deputy to help track them down. Angels could not spend great amounts of time outside of Heaven, so we sought out a human."

"The plan was simple. All humans have light and dark in them. Our plan was to give a human the ability to harness both. The light would be able to help him or her combat the demons, while the darkness would allow him or her to track them unnoticed.

"The perfect candidate came in the form of a young man by the name of Nathan. He had faced many hardships over his life, yet his faith was unwavering. He had the perfect amount of light and darkness within him for what we needed, and when we approached him, he was more than happy to serve us."

Gabriel paused for a moment.

"What happened," Monokrome inquired.

"It was an inspiring success. Nathan was the most efficient soldier we could have ever asked for. He was quick, he was professional, and he was everything we could have ever asked for. Sachel and Nathan worked very closely together for many years, until eventually…"

Monokrome understood, "They fell in love."

Gabriel nodded, "It wasn't the first time humans and angels had intermingled. Many myths and legends were inspired by the children of such unions, known to some mythologies as 'demigods.' I had personally hoped it wouldn't happen between them, but I decided to leave them be. They had earned that much."

"What went wrong?" Monokrome asked.

Gabriel sighed, "Human nature. We had given Nathan enormous power, and as anyone with any sliver intelligence would tell you…"

"Power corrupts."

"Exactly," Gabriel agreed, "When he came to us, he was the most faithful and loyal human being we could ever hope for. However, over the years, the temptation of his darker abilities began to take their toll on him, and he soon became consumed by his inner darkness."

"Why didn't you monitor him?" Monokrome asked, "You can't tell me you didn't think that might happen."

"Angels have a certain ability," Gabriel answered, "that allows us to see the inner emotions of anyone we look at. I always believed that whenever Nathan would struggle with his temptations, we would be able to see it, and help should it ever became a threat. Somehow, Nathan managed to fool our sight."

"One night, Sachel and Nathan were alone in a remote village looking for a demon. When they found a place for the night, they got…passionate. During the process, Nathan's defenses slipped, and for the briefest of moments, Sachel was able to see that not only was Nathan's feelings for her gone, but he was also consumed by darkness. Sachel was horrified, and tried to get away from him, but Nathan had figured out what she had seen, and confronted her. Sachel tried to fight him, but he managed to defeat her and escape, leaving her for dead. We managed to get to her before it was too late, but Nathan was gone."

Monokrome bowed his head, "So that's what happened to her. I always knew she was in pain, but I never imagined it would be anything like that."

"It wasn't," Gabriel stated grimly, causing Monokrome to look up. "There's more. Much more."

* * *

Kristin walked into the Hall of Heroes, and up to Lexicon's memorial hologram. The lights had gone out so the only light in the room came from the visages of fallen heroes. Kristin walked down the row of holograms, reading the names one by one as she went down. Robin, Jason Todd. Blue Beetle, Theodore Kord. Superboy, Kon-El. The Question, Vic Sage.

Kristin stopped in front of Lexicon's hologram, and looked into her face. She almost laughed at how well they had captured the carefree joy that radiated from her. Kristin wiped away a tear. She looked down at the name on the plate, and when she read the name, could hardly contain what was a mix between a laugh and a sob.

**Lexicon**

**Alexis Conner**

Kristin couldn't help but smile. Alexis Conner. Lexicon.

_"It's a nickname from high school. I felt it was very…me."_

Kristin's knees buckled and she knelt before the plaque, conceding to the rush of tears that she had held back for so long.

* * *

Monokrome stared at the Archangel.

"What do you mean there's more?" he asked. In truth, he had already expected there would be, but had really hoped that the story would end there due to the fear of what would come next.

Gabriel's eyes sank to the table, remorse filling the glowing pools of light.

"The betrayal Sachel felt was unbearable. The rage and pain that had consumed her could be seen a mile away, and soon…well…it is well known how fine the line is between Justice and Revenge."

Monokrome found himself asking the question, but fear gripped him as he considered the answer.

"What happened?"

"She went looking for him, of course. At first, she found nothing. Nathan had managed to escape, but Sachel would not be denied. After evading her wrath for two weeks, she finally tracked him down to the twin cities…"

_No…_ thought Monokrome.

"…known as Sodom and Gomorrah."

If Monokrome had not already been sitting, his knees would have given away beneath him. As it was, he barely registered himself slump back into the chair as his whole body went numb.

"You…you don't mean…"

Gabriel nodded, "In her quest to find Nathan and make him pay for what he had done, she burned both cities to the ground."

* * *

With great difficulty, Kristin managed to gather herself enough to pick herself up off of the floor. She needed to get away from here. Hadn't she left the apartment to make an attempt to avoid these memories? She made her way to the teleporter, only to stop in the frame of the door to the room.

_Lexicon stumbled out of the teleporter while her roommate stepped out gracefully. Lexicon turned to face Sachel, the biggest smile plastered to her face._

_ "That was AWESOME!" the brunette exclaimed, "Let's do it again!"_

_ Sachel smiled, "I doubt the higher-ups would be happy if you spent your first day in the League playing with their very expensive equipment."_

_ Lexicon looked disappointed but perked up almost immediately._

_ "That's ok," she said, "We have to leave this space voyage somehow. I think I'm going to be visiting this place a lot."_

_ Sachel smiled and shook her head at her roommate._

Kristin smiled and stepped into the teleporter, and was beamed down to the planet below.

* * *

Monokrome sat slumped in the chair. This wasn't the first time he had heard this said about Sachel, he had heard Beelzebub accuse her of destroying Sodom and Gomorrah in the nightclub, but to hear it here, as truth, Monokrome could hardly bear it. How could the Sachel he knew be capable of these things? He tried so hard not to believe what Gabriel was telling him, but despite himself, he could not help but trust the Archangel.

After a moment's pause, Monokrome asked, "Nathan. Did she ever find him?"

Gabriel nodded.

"And?"

Gabriel sighed, "She murdered him on the spot."

Monokrome groaned and stood up, his face in one hand.

"I know this is hard to hear," Gabriel said, "But after all you've been through, I felt you of all people deserved to know the truth."

Monokrome nodded, "I just…I can't believe the Sachel I know would be capable of this."

"You are correct. The Sachel you know is not the same angel who committed those atrocities all those years ago. We had no choice but to banish her to Earth for what she did, and ever since then, she has reformed in ways we could only dreamed of, and we were more than willing to give her a chance to redeem herself."

Monokrome requested that Gabriel explain himself, and Gabriel told Monokrome of the Angel's plans to test Sachel's restraint.

A spark of anger blazed in the Grey Warrior's eyes, "Angel, you better not be implying what I think you are."

"No. Lord, no," Gabriel said quickly, realizing what that must have sounded like to the hero. "We are in no way responsible for Lexicon's death. Our test would have been far different. No, Lexicon's death was the act of others, and one we deeply regret."

Monokrome nodded, "What does this have to do with Beelzebub?"

"We're not sure," Gabriel shook his head. "We have yet to determine how he has learned of Sachel's past, or why he is so intent on using it against her, but his actions are having a profound effect on her. I have seen her heart, Monokrome, the pain she feels for her friend's death is unsettlingly close to what it was like after Nathan's betrayal."

Monokrome said nothing for a minute. When he spoke, his tone was soft and quiet.

"What do you need me to do?"

"Talk to her," Gabriel said, "Past or no, Sachel needs somebody to comfort her. If left on her own, only God knows what this loss could do to her."

"I thought you wanted to test her," Monokrome said, resentment dripping from his voice.

"I still care about her, Richard Grare," Gabriel stated with a hard voice. When Monokrome didn't answer, Gabriel enveloped himself in light, transforming back into Specter Levitas. He made his way to the door, but before he left, he turned back to Monokrome.

"I know Sachel wasn't the only one who was hurt by Lexicon's loss," he said. "Perhaps she also isn't the only one who needs somebody."

* * *

Kristin didn't get back to her apartment in Metropolis until late, when she could avoid it no longer. She walked into her apartment and immediately went for the kitchen. She walked towards the table, pulling out the bottle of whiskey she had just bought. She sat down at the table and took a long drink from the bottle. The liquid tasted disgusting, but Kristin prayed that maybe if she drank enough, she would be able to block the memories from flooding her mind. Kristin put the bottle down and buried her face in her arm.

She had been on this Earth for five thousand years. She had made friends come, seen them go, and seen them die. She had watched countless people she cared about grow old and die over time as she was left untouched. She had fought in many wars over the centuries, and had seen men and women die around her time and time again. So what was it about this one that made her feel like this? What made Lexicon so special that her death hit her so hard? Didn't she always know that this day would come? Didn't she know the moment she laid eyes on the Mage of Nature that she would eventually see her die? Why didn't she know better by now? When would she learn to stop caring so goddamn much!?

Kristin took another long drink from the bottle. _Please let this end, _she pleaded.

She sat their for a long time, and would have sat there all night, had there not been a knock at the door.

* * *

Richard stood outside the door of Sachel and Lexicon's apartment, a mixture of regret and sadness growing in his stomach. Slowly and hesitantly raising his hand, he knocked on the door. After a small moment, the door opened with Sachel on the other side, and Richard felt himself feeling crushed at the state his friend was in.

Sachel was a mess. Her hair was unkempt, her clothes were wrinkled, and dark circles had begun to form under her eyes.

"Richard?" she said.

Richard looked at her questioning eyes, debating what to say. Finally, he muttered, "Gabriel came to see me."

Sachel's eyes widened at the sound of her old Master's name. _Did he…?_

Richard dropped his gaze. "He told me everything," he said quietly.

Sachel knew she should have felt angry at Gabriel telling Richard without telling her, but in truth, she felt relieved. She had always wanted to tell Richard herself, it felt unfair him caring about her so much without knowing what she had done, but every time she tried she couldn't bring herself to tell him who she was.

Sachel nodded and stepped back into her apartment. Richard came in after her, closing the door behind him. Sachel leaned on a desk, her hands hanging to her side.

"So…" she said weakly, looking at him with glazed eyes, "Now you know what I am."

"An angel?" Richard said.

Sachel shook her head. "A monster," she said, her voice cracking.

Richard walked over to her and grabbed her shoulders, looking into her eyes.

"You are NOT a monster," he said assertively, "People change. I've known people can become totally different people in only a year, you've had five thousand. You are not the same person who did those horrible things all those years ago."

Sachel met his eyes, her gaze distant, "How do you know?"

"Because I know you."

Sachel said nothing. Richard sighed and straightened up, and it was then that he noticed the bottle in her hand.

"You've been drinking," he said.

Sachel looked at the empty bottle in her hand, as if only now remembering that it was there.

"'Been trying to," she said flatly, "but it turns out, Angels bodies work a little bit different than humans." She tossed the bottle to the ground, and it rolled away. "I can't get drunk," she said.

Richard looked into her eyes, sadness finally breaking through in his own. Sachel met his gaze, and when he spoke, it was in a low, quiet voice.

"I miss her too."

Sachel's composure broke, and tears rolled down her face as a sob escaped her lips. Richard wrapped his arms around her as she leaned into him, her held back emotions pouring out of her like a flood.

Richard took her and sat them down on the bed as he held her close to him. A single tear escaped Richard's eye, and he closed his eyes as it rolled down his cheek.

Sachel raised her head and looked him in the eyes. He opened his eyes and met hers. Slowly, but tenderly, their faces moved closer to each other. Their lips met, and Sachel felt herself surrendering to him. In that moment, when their lips touched and lightning flashed, everything else melted away. The only thing that existed in that moment was their desire and their need for each other. If Sachel could form a thought, she would be berating herself for not resisting the feelings she had for Richard, but there was no thought here, no logic, no reason. Tonight, there was only Sachel and Monokrome; Kristin Rose, and Richard Grare. Nothing else existed. Nothing else mattered. This night belonged to them.

* * *

Sachel laid in bed, watching Richard's chest rise and fall with every breath as he slept beside her. Sachel tried to sleep, but her mind refused to slow down. She sat up, still looking at the man she cared for, and buried her face in her hands.

_What am I doing?_


	13. Ch 13: Retribution

Ch. 13 Grey Area

Retribution

Sachel lay in bed for what had felt like hours before giving up on sleep. Sitting up, she moved slowly climbed out of bed as to not disturb Richard, who was sleeping beside her. She looked at him, and smiled. While it had taken a more peaceful nature to it, his expression still retained the caring and loving look that he had a few hours before.

Sachel turned and dressed herself in a long shirt and shorts. She walked out onto the balcony, and closed her eyes as a small wind blew across Metropolis. Temporary as she knew it was, all the stress in her life had managed to dissipate, and she reveled in the relief.

She opened her eyes and jumped back in surprise. Standing on the rooftop across from her apartment was Beelzebub, facing the Angel of Tech, tattered cape billowing in the wind. His form was illuminated by the nimbus of flames circulating his curled fists. Sachel couldn't see his face, but her mind placed an arrogant sneer on his face, and a rage and contempt she had fought so hard to bury threatened to boil over.

The flames around Beelzebub's hands grew, and the Demon raised his arms. The two fireballs connected and merged, growing into a raging fireball. Beelzebub heaved his arms, sending the roaring inferno towards Sachel.

Before Sachel could react, she felt a strong pair of arms wrap around her, pulling her back into the apartment.

* * *

Richard had awoken not long after Sachel had gotten up, and watched her stand on the balcony. He had silently gotten up and slip on some shorts when he saw Beelzebub's fire, and when the Demon hurled it in their direction, he was quick to act.

He grabbed Sachel from behind and pulled her into the apartment. He turned their bodies with his back to the deadly projectile, a telekinetic shield beginning to form around them. The blast hit the shield with direct precision, and the explosion was enormous. The concussive force breached the shield, causing Richard and Sachel to be flung forward.

When Sachel recovered, the first thing she saw was her place ablaze. In a matter of seconds, what hadn't been disintegrated by the blast was engulfed in flames. She looked over and saw Richard lying on the ground, unmoving. Sachel crawled over to him and was relieved to see him breathing. He was unconscious, but very much alive. Sachel looked around and saw the flames threatened to consume them.

A powerful force began to form in Sachel's abdomen. If Sachel didn't stop to think how it was possible. Instinct quickly overrode thought, and Sachel quickly released the power to the air around her. A powerful force of wind expelled around her accompanied by a flare of holy light. Somehow the power had activated the Armory Zeta Beams, and when the light faded, Sachel saw her suit beginning to materialize on her body. Richard's own armor began to cover him as well as the hero began to wake up. Relieved to see that Monokrome was all right, Sachel rose, and turned to face their attacker.

Beelzebub's eyes had barely begun to recover from the light when he saw Sachel rising from the ashes. Her armor and wings were materializing as she turned to face him, and when he looked into her eyes, his heart almost stopped.

Sachel's eyes no longer took on the glow most had come to recognize. The white-blue glow had been replaced by a reddish orange inferno, the fiery energy leaking out of her eyes and curling around her brow like holy flame pouring from her eyes. Beelzebub didn't need his emotional vision to see the rage that Sachel all but radiated. Beelzebub took a step back, debating whether or not it was time for him to make his leave. Hesitation was his first mistake.

Sachel rocketed from her balcony with the speed and precision of a falcon. She crossed the distance between her building and Beelzebub's before the Demon's brain had the chance to register the attack. She struck his abdomen with the force of a speeding train, driving the breath from Beelzebub's lungs and knocking him off of his feet. Beelzebub struck the ground hard and rolled onto his feet.

He looked up to see the Angel bearing down on him. He struggled to his feet, and deciding it was time to be elsewhere, activated his super-speed, and was quick to run away.

_No you don't you bastard_, Sachel thought. She quickly activated her wings, and when Beelzebub made the mistake to look back, he saw the Angel of Tech hot on his heels, in every way a bird of prey.

* * *

Monokrome struggled to his feet as his armor finally formed on his body. He looked across the street to see Sachel activating her wings in pursuit of the Fire Demon.

"Sachel, wait!" he shouted, but it was in vain. Sachel was gone in pursuit of Lexicon's murderer, and Monokrome was left to fear for his friend's future. He leaped from the building's balcony, his telekinesis aiding him as he sailed across the street. He landed on the roof, buckling his knees and rolling into the landing, before taking off across the rooftops in hopes of catching Sachel before she did something she'd regret for the rest of her life.

Beelzebub had run for a good five minutes before he decided that he had gone far enough. Coming to a rooftop across the street from Metropolis's Centennial Park, he suddenly turned and brought his fist upwards, upper cutting Sachel as she sped towards him. Sachel never saw the attack coming, and it connected hard under her chin. She was lifted higher into the air and slammed onto her back. She immediately leapt to her feet, and parried Beelzebub's next blow with her forearm before striking at him with a blow of her own. She struck him in the abdomen, once again causing his breath to be forced out if his lungs. Beelzebub still managed to catch her foot as it rose to strike his head in spite of this, and he threw the Angel to the ground. She rolled into the fall and quickly got to her feet, facing the villain approaching her.

* * *

Monokrome landed the rooftop across from the one Sachel and Beelzebub were fighting on. Monokrome prepared to leap to the next roof and back up the Angel when he felt a hot blast on his back. He fell to the roof below, landing hard on his chest. Struggling to his feet, Monokrome looked back to see Vendettuh standing behind him, one of his energy blasters. The Grey Warrior rose to his feet, drawing his sword.

"You'd figured by now I'd be used to you shooting me in the back."

The hitman said nothing. Despite his mask, Monokrome had no issue picturing the look of contempt etched on his face. He imagined it matching the one that had formed on his own.

The hero and villain stared at each other for a full minute, waiting for the other to make the first move. _The classic showdown, _Monokrome couldn't help but think. The only thing missing was for a newspaper to blow between them.

Vendettuh brought his pistols up with a blur, firing energy bolt after energy bolt at the hero. Monokrome reacted quickly, deflecting the bolts with his blade while running at him. He reached Vendettuh and leaped at him, bringing the flat of his blade down. Vendettuh rolled out of the way, and unleashed another assault of bolts. Monokrome deflected the group of deadly bursts, bouncing them off of a telekinetic field back at the villain. Vendettuh dodged the returned fire and turned to fire at Monokrome again, but the Grey Warrior charged at him, knocking one of his blasters out of his hand. Vendettuh was pushed back as Monokrome crushed the weapon under his foot. Energy blasters, it seemed, weren't made out of stuff as sturdy as normal guns.

* * *

Sachel and Beelzebub circled one another, each waiting for the other to make a move.

"Why are you doing this to me!?" she yelled.

Beelzebub smiled, "If you ever encountered a demon escaped from Hell, would you let him be?"

Sachel didn't answer, and so he continued, "No, you would hunt him, you would fight him, and you would do everything in your power to send him back to Hell out of loyalty to your master."

"What does that have to do with me?" Sachel asked.

"I just wanted you to appreciate the loyalty that motivates one such as myself," Beelzebub said. "However, my God is not as merciful as yours, nor am I as your kind. It's not enough to kill you. First, you must suffer, and oh how easy you've made it for me."

Sachel could almost see the grin that was spreading across Beelzebub's smile as the glee and insanity began to drip from his voice. Gone was the Demon's façade of justice and retaliation. The sadism and darkness that had fueled the life of this man had finally begun to show through.

"I thought I had made it clear when we last met, Angel. I killed Lexicon to make you suffer. I would have thought that after all this time on Earth, you would have learned not to care about others, that they would cause you nothing but pain. But no, you gave me the perfect target for me."

Beelzebub crouched like an animal ready to pounce.

"I really must thank you," he giggled.

Sachel charged, leaping into the air and bringing her fist down onto the villain. Beelzebub caught her fist and threw her to the side, following up with a blast of concentrated energy. The blast smote her side, causing Sachel to cry out in pain. The villain gave her no reprieve, charging at her and striking her in the chest and abdomen.

Beelzebub was growing frustrated. His words were designed to play at Sachel's guilt and weaken her resolve, just as it did before. Now, however, they did nothing but feed the rage that roared inside the Angel, a bright inferno of anger and determination. What did it take to break this fallen angel?

Beelzebub threw Sachel to the ground once more and charged at her. Sachel looked to see him coming and sprang from the ground. She swung her leg at his head, the resulting blow striking the demon so hard that he flew through the air and towards the edge of the building.

* * *

Monokrome swung his sword at Vendettuh multiple times in a quick sequence of strikes. What Vendettuh didn't dodge, he blocked with his gauntlets. Catching the blade between his wrists, Vendettuh held it in place for a second before pushing Monokrome's arms out of the way and kicking him in the chest. Monokrome was knocked a few steps back, but regained his footing just before tossing his electrical cord at Monokrome. Monokrome caught it on his left arm, letting it wrap around his forearm, before he used his right hand to pull Vendettuh close and wrapping the cord around Vendettuh's neck before the villain had the chance to send the electrical current coursing through it. Monokrome spun the hitman around and placed a knee in his back, crashing Vendettuh to the ground with Monokrome on top of him.

Monokrome yanked the cord upwards, lifting Vendettuh's head an inch with it.

"Yield," he hissed into Vendettuh's ear.

"Never," Vendettuh grunted. He triggered the electrical current, sending the electricity coursing through Monokrome, leaving the villain untouched.

Monokrome convulsed and fell to the ground. Vendettuh got up, chuckling at the hero.

"Idiot," he said, "I carry this thing with me all day. Do you really think I'm not armored against it?"

"Perhaps," Monokrome coughed, struggling to his knees, "Now let's see how well you're armored against this."

Monokrome lifted his head and sent a devastating wave of telekinetic energy towards Vendettuh. The force slammed into Vendettuh like a ton of bricks, and Vendettuh was lifted off of his feet. He landed hard. When he cleared his head enough to sit up, Vendettuh opened his eyes to find Monokrome's blade at his throat.

"Stay down," Monokrome growled.

* * *

For a moment Beelzebub saw nothing but the ground five stories down. For a moment he wondered if this was how he was going to meet his end, or if he would be able to summon enough firepower to slow his descent enough to save himself. As it turns out, neither possibility occurred.

Beelzebub felt a strong hand wrap around his throat at the last moment, and he was pulled from the edge at the last moment before the enraged Angel slammed him against the wall of the stairs leading up to the roof. Quicker than the eye could see, Sachel had grabbed one of her tri-bladed katars from its sheath and had the blade pointed at Beelzebub's head.

Beelzebub struggled against Sachel's grip, but she was unyielding.

Beelzebub stopped struggling, looked Sachel in the eye, and smiled.

"You must have lost many friends over the years, but let me ask you this: How many died because of you?"

Beelzebub didn't realize his mistake until it was too late. Before now, Sachel's anger had been on the teetering edge of beyond what Sachel could control, and now he had pushed her far beyond her breaking point.

Sachel screamed in blind rage as she hurled the Demon into the air. Beelzebub went numb in fear as he realized that Sachel might kill him before his plan could work. Twisting in midair, Beelzebub saw Sachel fly into the air above him. When she reached her target altitude, Sachel angled herself towards Beelzebub and dove towards the ground. She slammed into Beelzebub, and the demon saw the ground charge to meet them as the Angel sped towards the Earth.

Angel and Demon crashed into the direct center of the Park, and without warning, the darkness of night was broken by an explosion of light.

* * *

The explosion distracted Monokrome long enough for Vendettuh to kick the sword out of his hand. Before Monokrome could react, Vendettuh was on his feet, striking him with precise, calculated blows.

Unable to counter Vendettuh's flurries of jabs and punches, Monokrome sent a burst of force from his body, one that knocked Vendettuh onto the next roof. Vendettuh landed on his back, but turned the fall into a maneuver, rolling backwards onto his feet. Monokrome was close behind him, leaping into the air and sending three telekinetic blades in Hashan's direction. He managed to dodge all but one, which clipped his arm as it passed, making him spin like a ballerina. He felt Monokrome behind him and attempted to send his elbow backwards to hit him, but the ex-cop caught it and twisted it behind Vendettuh's back.

The effects from Vendettuh's previous assault came into effect, however, and Monokrome's body became paralyzed. It was then did Monokrome feel the needle like puncture in his side.

_An injection, Victor? This is what you've sunk to?_

Vendettuh tried to struggle free but it was no use. The paralysis that swept through Monokrome's body was similar to rigor mortis, resulting in Monokrome maintaining a vice-like grip on his enemy.

"It doesn't matter," he smiled. "You're still helpless to do anything but watch as your dear angel friend fights for her life."

Vendettuh turned and looked into Monokrome's frozen face.

"I hope you managed to tell her 'I love you' one last time."

* * *

Despite Vendettuh's comments, Beelzebub was the one fearing for his life. His armor was badly damaged, his helmet all but disintegrated and pieces from red and black scraps of metal were scattered all around the crater their crash had created, but it was the center of the crater that filled the Demon with absolute terror.

Sachel stood tall in the center of the crater completely unharmed. Her trench coat was replaced by a flowing robe and her undershirt by an armored red breastplate. Her gloves and boots were replaced by gauntlets and armored boots, but all of these were lost to the Demon when he saw the most striking feature of all. Sachel's mechanical wings were gone. The Plexiglas remains were scattered throughout across the ground, their cradle, a tangled mess of straps and wires a few yards away. Sprouting from Sachel's shoulders was a pair of majestic swan wings. They were spread at a good ten feet across, and the feathers were pure white, almost glowing in the darkness of the night.

The Angel of Tech was gone. This powerful and majestic creature standing before Beelzebub was a being of might and authority. Standing before Beelzebub was no longer the hero of the Justice League, he stood face to face with the Archangel of Justice.

Sachel was on the fallen Demon before he could cry out. She grabbed him by the throat and lifted him in the air. Beelzebub felt a cold sliver of fear. Sachel's fury may have broken through the barrier of her powers, making her a true Archangel once again, but she was still the same person he was fighting moments before, and cold fury still radiated from her like a sun.

"You don't deserve to live," she snarled, tossing him outside of the crater. Beelzebub rose to his knees and found his neck lifted by Sachel's tri-bladed katar. He was completely at her mercy, his life at the mercy of her rage, the rage of the Angel that burned down two whole cities to kill one man. And her blade was at his throat.


	14. Ch 14: Redemption

Ch. 14 Grey Area

Redemption

Monokrome stood paralyzed on the rooftop overlooking Centennial Park, watching helplessly as the enraged Archangel of Justice advanced on one of the men that had murdered her best friend. He wanted so hard to believe that she wouldn't let her hatred get the better of her, but even from this distance, the pain and rage in Sachel's eyes was all too apparent.

Down in the park, Sachel's arm began to shake. Every impulse in Sachel's body screamed for her to slit the demon's neck where he stood. Every neuron in her brain pushed for her to bring the blade down on Beelzebub's throat.

Beelzebub grinned, "What are you waiting for, Archangel? Do it."

Sachel's arm shook, and Beelzebub's face soured. "DO IT!" he shouted.

Sachel raised her blade into the air, ready to send it down and ending the villain's life. She was about to bring her arm down when there was a flash before her eyes. Thousands of people cried out in pain and agony around her as they burned alive. The faces of Lexicon, Richard, and Gabriel surrounded her. They said nothing, but the look of sadness and disappointment that was etched on each of their faces was worse than any anger or harsh words.

Sachel felt the weight of the katar in her hand, and then she looked at the villain before her. Then she saw Lexicon's burnt and broken body in the remains of the warehouse. She saw Monokrome, helpless and paralyzed as he stood enthralled in Vendettuh's trap, and she saw the countless other lives these villains would ruin should they live.

Beelzebub watched Sachel struggle with herself. He tried to determine exactly what was going on deep within her mind, but it was hidden behind the inferno of raw power as it circulated through her body, and her expression remained cold and emotionless.

Sachel looked deep into Beelzebub's eyes. He looked back at her with a feigned bravery and cockiness, but beneath it all she saw nothing but fear, and in that instant, all doubts left her mind. She gripped the katar hard and brought it down onto the villain.

* * *

_No! _Monokrome's mind screamed, unable to speak.

* * *

Beelzebub closed his eyes and waited for the blade to slash his neck and end his life, condemning the Archangel to her inner darkness forever. He waited, but it never came.

The Fire Demon opened his eyes, and Sachel stood in front of him, arms at her side, and unarmed. He looked to down and saw her tri-bladed katars embedded in the ground on either side of him. He looked back at Sachel, anger building inside him.

Sachel said nothing. She only stared back into the killer's eyes, and snapped her fingers. Chains made from pure light sprung from the weapons, binding the villain on the spot. He struggled against the chains, focusing his power against them, but to no avail.

Sachel stood above him, anger radiating from her body.

"Just who do you think I am?" she said, venom dripping from her words. "I have lived with what I did that night for five thousand years. Do you think anything you can do to me will make me forget it all? Lexicon was my friend, and I loved her very much. There's nothing I would like more than to see you suffer for what you did to her. But if I take your life now, if I make myself like you because of her…"

Sachel bowed her head, "…she'd never forgive me for it."

Beelzebub sighed. "So disappointing," he said.

Beelzebub raised his head and shouted "LANCE!"

A beam of cold energy struck Sachel directly in the chest. It didn't harm her, but it knocked her off her feet as a villain in a brown trench coat step out from the darkness. An orange and blue blur sped past Beelzebub, and half a second later a tiger skinned woman in a blue, black, and yellow unitard appeared, katars in one hand, her battle axe in the other.

With the source of their power removed, the chains binding Beelzebub disappeared. He stood up, massaging his wrists.

"May I introduce you to Sgt. Lance?" Beelzebub motioned towards the villain in the trench coat, "And of course you remember Savage Beauty," the tigress woman grinned, revealing sharp teeth.

"You were supposed to kill me, Archangel," Beelzebub sighed. "How am I supposed to gain satisfaction from bringing the end of a pure angel?"

Sachel struggled to her feet. She heard a thump behind her, and she saw Vendettuh dumping Monokrome at her side before joining his cohorts, holding Monokrome's sword in his hand. Sachel rushed to Richard's side, and was relieved to see him beginning to gain movement in his body.

Beelzebub shook his head, "I suppose, in the end, it doesn't matter."

The Fire Demon pulled out a small knife from his belt and before Sachel could react, he rushed the Angel, slicing open her arm. Sachel cried out in pain as she grasped the wound. Savage Beauty giggled as Beelzebub returned to the group, Sachel's blood dripping from the blade.

"Your contribution is much appreciated, Archangel."

Beelzebub began to walk backwards, away from the group of villains. Sachel saw his foot brush a certain patch in the grass, and a circle of light began to spread across a pattern in the ground, like fire spreading through a line of oil. The visage of an inverted pentagram formed in the grass, Beelzebub standing in the middle.

In a split second, a penny dropped in Sachel's mind, and terror filled her heart. The pentagram. The blood of an Angel. These were the ingredients to a spell used to summon a demon from Hell. _He planned this all along, and I walked right into it. _She rushed to stop him, but was blasted back by a combined assault from Lance and Savage Beauty. Cackling like a madman, Beelzebub stabbed the ground with the dagger, causing all Hell to break loose.

A column of dark energy erupted from the circle. Beelzebub was thrown to the side from the force, and looked back with mad glee as the silhouette of a creature with large, bat-like wings rose from the eruption.

"Rise, my master, come to this world and take what is rightfully yours!"

The energy subsided, and when it was gone, a man with shoulder length black hair and large demonic wings sprouted from his shoulders crouched in the center of the charred patch of earth where the pentagram had been. Savage Beauty and Sgt. Lance grabbed Sachel's shoulders and brought her into the circle and at the man's feet, Sachel too afraid to resist. His body was covered in black, demonic armor. He stood up, his six foot four frame rising to full height, and when Sachel saw his face, she went absolutely numb with disbelief and fear.

The man looked down at her with a large smile.

"It's good to see you again, Sachel."

When Sachel spoke, her voice was weak and quivering.

"Nathan."

* * *

Monokrome struggled to move behind the gathering of villains. He saw the display that summoned the demon before him, and was left in disbelief when he heard Sachel say his name. Struggling to lift his arm, Monokrome managed to press a button on his gauntlet, activating a secure communication link.

"Monokrome to the Watchtower, we have priority one emergency…"

* * *

Nathan stood at the center of the circle of villains. His red eyes looked down in glee as he saw Sachel's wide with fear.

"Now there's a face I've been waiting to see for five thousand years," Nathan smiled, "and when you're waiting in Hell, well, let's just say I've been waiting far longer than you have."

Sachel managed to find her voice. "What do you want, Nathan?"

"To hurt you, Sachel, what else? You killed me in cold blood. You don't expect me to forgive that, do you? Sure, in time I couldn't help but feel proud of you for going so far to get me, but you still sent me down into that pit." Nathan's voice began to drip with malice, and he bent down to Sachel's eye level, "Fortunately, I've had lots of time to think about just how to hurt you back."

Straightening up, Nathan addressed those around him as well as the Angel, "But first, we need a sacrifice."

Beelzebub turned his head to Monokrome, "Should I bring you the hero?"

"No, no, he's far too…good for what I need," Nathan turned his head to Beelzebub, "You'll do."

A smoky tentacle of darkness sprung from the ground and wrapped itself around Beelzebub's neck. The Fire Demon's eyes widened with shock and betrayal as he struggled to get free, but he could not break the dark vine's hold on him. Dark energy flowed from Beelzebub into the vine, and from the vine, into Nathan. Beelzebub began to scream in pain. His body began to shrivel, and with one last cry dying in the Demon's throat, the tentacle released its hold on Beelzebub, his body crashing onto the ground in a pile of dust and armor.

The remaining villains cried out in shock and horror as Nathan turned his gaze towards them and more tentacles sprung from the ground in front of them. Sgt. Lance and Savage Beauty were caught completely by surprise, still stunned from Beelzebub's sudden death, and were caught almost immediately. Vendettuh was an assassin, however, and survived by quickly adapting to situations. The moment the tentacle appeared in front of him, he quickly utilized Monokrome's sword to slice through it. He wasn't sure if it would have any effect, but he had to try something. Fortunately for him, the sword had been enhanced by members of the Magic Wing of the Watchtower as to augment Monokrome's mental abilities, and it managed to slice the end off of the tentacle. More tentacles sprang from the ground around the hitman and he swung the sword all around him, dispatching each with haste.

Unfortunately, his defense was in vain. A lone tentacle sprung behind him and wrapped around his neck, lifting him off the ground. He screamed in frustration as he felt his darkness being drained from his body.

"Poor little assassin," Nathan smiled. "You really should get a handle on your curiosity. It'll get you in trouble."

Monokrome watched in horror as Victor Hashan slowly stopped struggling, until finally his body crumbled to dust and his remains fell to the ground.

Sachel watched wide-eyed as the darkness gathered in Nathan, causing his eyes to go stark black and his skin to turn grey. He looked at Sachel with demented glee. Nathan knew it was usually a mistake to spell out his plan to the young hero, but he had waited for this moment for five thousand years, and the entire idea was to cause her pain. What was the point if he couldn't gloat?

"You love this city, do you not?"

Sachel said nothing, fearing her words would betray her, but her eyes said it all.

Nathan continued, "An eye for an eye, was that not the only saying? You destroyed two cities trying to kill me." Nathan looked around at Metropolis, "This is only one city, but no matter, there's far more people here to kill. The darkness harvested from these villains will be used to render this city to a pile of slag!"

Sachel's eyes flared, but she said nothing.

"What's wrong, Sachel? Nothing? No clever quip? No snappy remark? Are you going to do nothing?"

Sachel smiled, "Perhaps this."

She quickly ducked out of the way as a trio of telekinetic blades rushed from behind her. While Nathan was busy with his monologue, Monokrome was busy fighting off the remaining effects of Vendettuh's venom. Once he was sure he could fight again, he telekinetically gave Sachel the signal to move, and sent the blades straight at the resurrected Demon. All three struck Nathan straight in the chest as Sachel dove to retrieve her katars from Savage Beauty's pile of dust.

Nathan recovered quickly. While the blades hurt, they did little damage.

"Flea," he growled, staring daggers at the Grey Warrior. A large amount of dark shadows shot from Nathan's feet towards Monokrome, and each shadow manifested into a skeletal wolf, resulting in a hundred demonic beasts charging at the hero. Sachel flapped her wings and leaped at Nathan, who summoned a large broadsword to counter Sachel's katars.

Nathan smiled. He had been waiting a long time for this moment.

* * *

Monokrome scooped his sword off the ground and peppered the beasts with mental blasts of force. A few beasts fell and dissolved into black smoke, but the majority maintained their stampede. Monokrome readied his blade, ready to go down fighting.

Before the beasts had managed to reach him, however, a large flash of light filled the sky, and a maelstrom of lightning blazed across the field, destroying a small number of beasts and cutting off their charge. Monokrome looked up to the sky and smiled. The cavalry had arrived.

A magical portal had opened in the sky, and out of the portal came Doctor Fate, Raven, Zatanna, Donna Troy, Captain Marvel, and Specter Levitas. Lightning cackled around the hands of the last two as they prepared another electrical assault.

The beasts roared in frustration as the newly arrived heroes gathered at Monokrome's side. Monokrome looked over to Levitas. No words were exchanged, but the look in Monokrome's eyes was all that was needed. Sachel was safe. She was truly an Angel once more. Levitas nodded, and Monokrome sounded the charge.

The heroes charged at Nathan's army of hell hounds, and the beasts charged at the heroes. The two sides clashed with a mighty force. Monokrome sent his blade bashing into one creature's skull while Levitas grabbed one by its neck and sent a thousand volts surging through the creature's frame, frying it. Raven sent blast after blast into the crowd, while Donna Troy crushed one under her hand. The fight was on.

* * *

Away from the battle, Sachel and Nathan traded blow after blow. Sachel attempted to strike and slash at Nathan from multiple angles, only for Nathan to parry them with his broadsword. Nathan in turn attempted to stab and cleave at Sachel with intense ferocity, only for Sachel to dodge and weave around the blade.

Nathan heaved his enormous wings and lifted into the air. Sachel followed suit, sending multiple light blasts from her weapons. Two blasts clipped Nathan's wings, sending him spinning through the air. Nathan snarled as he twirled to face his former partner. He pointed the tip of his sword at the ascending angel, unleashing a beam of dark energy at the recently reinstated Archangel. Sachel clapped her katars together, a beam of light being unleashed form the tip of their blades. In a million-to-one chance, the two beams met in the middle, cancelling each other out as each side battled for dominance. Sachel looked into the ex-Holy Demon's face and saw his grey skin beginning to crack. Her eyes widened in surprise. The distraction was enough for Nathan's beam to blast through Sachel's, blasting her straight in the chest and sending her falling to earth.

* * *

On the ground, Monokrome and his allies sliced through the hell hound forces. Beasts stopped as golden ankhs appeared on their foreheads before they burst into golden flames as Doctor Fate hovered above them. Elsewhere, Zatanna raised her wand and shouted an incantation.

"Yb lliw dna evol, emoceb a evod!" she shouted, and a group of beasts transformed into a single white dove, which flew into her hat.

Monokrome was concerned. Nathan had summoned many of these demons, but at the rate that they were cutting them down their forces should have thinned considerably by now. Despite their assault, the beasts kept coming at them strong as ever. Monokrome fought his way towards Levitas, who was busy frying demons one after the other. They stood back to back, Monokrome sending waves of mental force through the army as Gabriel sent arcs of lightning through a string of enemies.

Monokrome shouted over the rage of battle, "They just keep coming!"

"Nathan must have set up a revitalizer somewhere!" Levitas shouted. He erected a lightning barrier around the two.

"When a demon or angel dies on Earth, their dark or light essence is released in an explosive manner," the Archangel explained, "While stronger beings such as myself or Sachel could eventually revitalize ourselves, beings weak as these will simply dissipate. Nathan must have a magical node that collects the hounds' energy and revitalizes them before it has a chance to disperse, allowing them to come at us again."

Monokrome nodded, "If we find this node, can we destroy it?"

"Let's start with finding it first," Levitas said. He turned and blasted a beast that managed to break through the barrier. Monokrome sent a wave of mental energy at an oncoming hound slicing it in half. He turned to Levitas and said, "If Nathan created it, it would be constructed from dark magic, right?"

Levitas nodded, dispatching another group of hounds. He stepped back as Donna Troy flew past gripping the neck of another beast. She landed a few yards away before beating it into dust.

Monokrome sought out Raven, who was floating above the battle not far from Doctor Fate, sending magical blasts into the demons. He called her down, erecting a mental barrier around the two.

"Levitas tells me there's a node of dark magic reviving the beasts as we destroy them," he said, "We need to find it so we can destroy it."

Raven nodded and sat cross-legged in midair in meditation. After a few seconds, she pointed and said "Seven meters in that direction."

Monokrome looked in the direction Raven was pointing, and realized the place she was referring to was the same spot Nathan was standing in when he summoned the demons in the first place.

_I didn't think of that…why? _He thanked Raven before going to find Levitas. Cutting through a set of hounds, he found the Archangel. Quickly, he explained to Gabriel what Raven had told him concerning where the node was.

"Can we destroy it?" Monokrome asked.

"I think so," Levitas replied. He summoned a nimbus of lightning around his hand, "A focused beam of light power should be able to destroy it, but I'm going to need a focal point, like some kind of magically-enhanced lightning rod."

Richard pulled out his sword, "Will this do?"

Levitas examined the sword and nodded, "That is exactly what we need."

The Archangel grabbed Monokrome and they lifted off, flying above the small horde of hell beasts as they made their way towards the revitalizer node. A few beasts tried to leap at them, but Levitas's lightning blasts and Monokrome's mental waves made short work of them. From a birds-eye point of view, it was easy to find the node now that they were looking for it. It was a dark circle where Nathan had been standing some time before with one hell hound leaping out after the other as a few meters away, the magical members of the Justice League decimated them over and over again.

Once they got directly over the node, Monokrome leaped from Levitas's arms, hurling his blade at the node. His own accuracy combined with a little help from his telekinesis resulted in the sword sticking into the ground in the direct center of the circle. Once Levitas was no longer supporting Monokrome, Gabriel summoned a large amount of his lightning powers in his fists. He unleashed the nova blast of lightning at the hilt of the sword. The sword caught it all and focused it into a single point in the center of the node. Golden cracks spread across the black pit, and within seconds, the revitalizer exploded, killing any beast within a five foot radius of the pit.

Monokrome and Levitas landed side-by-side where the magical node just was. Monokrome casually pulled his sword from the ground, wiping the dirt from the tip.

"Now then," he said, "Let's try this again"

* * *

Sachel spread her wings as far as they went and flapped, stopping her descent. She looked around for Nathan, and saw him charging at her from the side, sword in slash position. Sachel quickly raised her katars in anticipation of Nathan's attack, and he hit her hard. They both flew through the air and crashed into the nearby Superman Statue, Sachel trapped against the golden shrine by Nathan's blade. Nathan reared his arm back, trying to crush Sachel's head against the statue. Sachel moved her head in the last minute, causing his fist to crash into the statue's arm, causing a large dent in the metal being where Sachel's head had been a second earlier.

Sachel closed her eyes and reopened them again, releasing a bright sun flare. Nathan yelled as he shielded his eyes. Sachel took the opportunity to bring her legs up to her chest and kick the demon away from her. Nathan soared through the air, Sachel got off the arm of the statue. Nathan recovered enough to hurl his sword at Sachel. The Archangel dodged the projectile and it embedded itself into the arm of the statue. While all the sword did was collapse the metal arm completely, sticking out the other side, the structure was weakened sufficiently, causing the arm to collapse. Pieces rained down to the base of the statue, the section with the blade sticking out the side lay pointing the battle below.

Sachel looked back at the Demon before her, and once again noticed his skin cracking in various places.

"You're degrading," she said. Nathan smiled.

"Glad you noticed," he said. "The four villains combined had a large amount of darkness in their hearts. Once I mixed it with my own, personal corruption, well, it became too much for my body to bear."

Nathan spread his arms, indicating his body, "Soon, this body will yield to the power within me, and I shall die. When that happens, the corrupted atomic bomb I will become will tear through this city, killing everybody within a twenty-mile radius."

Nathan smiled at Sachel's disturbed expression, "Sure, you'll survive, as will a handful of the more powerful metahumans in this city, but a great deal of your friends…" he motioned towards the heroes fighting below, "…will be obliterated. Once I reform, I'll find a new city, with more sinners. I will absorb their darkness, and the whole thing will start all over again until you find a way to send me back to Hell. I only tell you this now…because it is already too late for you to stop me."

Sachel could see that Nathan was right. His body, as it was, was beyond repair, and once it gave in, the resulting explosion would destroy everyone around them. Sachel lunged at the Demon in anger, but the demon flew above her assault and rocketed downwards, driving her towards the ground. She crash landed face first into the dirt, and Nathan landed on her back, sending a wave of pain through Sachel's spine. He grabbed her hair and pulled her face up. She was facing the Justice League's battle with the remainder of Nathan's army, the creatures' numbers quickly wearing thin. Soon, they would be victorious, but Sachel knew it didn't matter. Nothing she could do could save them from Nathan's destruction. No matter how hard she tried, she could see no way to save them from desolation of Nathan's darkness.

A penny dropped in Sachel's brain.

_His darkness._

_Sachel clapped her katars together, a beam of light being unleashed form the tip of their blades. In a million-to-one chance, the two beams met in the middle, cancelling each other out as each side battled for dominance._

In order to save those around them, Nathan's darkness would have to be met with a generally similar amount of light. Such light that would be caused by the death of someone made of pure light, someone like…

_Someone like me._

Sachel raised her head as she looked across the park and saw Monokrome battling the last of the hell hounds. He looked so brave, so strong, and was someone Sachel had grown to care for, even to love.

Sachel closed her eyes to suppress a tear. She raised her large wings and let out a defiant yell as she brought them down hard. The sudden shift caused Nathan to lose his footing and fall on top of Sachel. The Archangel caught him by the neck to keep him in place on her back. Back on her feet, Sachel used her powerful legs and wings to propel both her and Nathan back towards the remains of the Superman statue…

…and onto the blade of Nathan's protruding broadsword.

* * *

Monokrome had finally dispatched the last of Nathan's beast, and he looked back to where Sachel and Nathan were fighting. What he saw made his heart stop dead.

* * *

Sachel felt the impact before she heard it. She looked down and saw a blood-soaked blade protruding from her stomach. She felt no pain. There would be no suffering for this Angel in her final moments.

She felt Nathan twitching behind her. She could only imagine the look of shock and disbelief on his face.

"W-what are you doing?" he said, his voice raspy and weak. Sachel said nothing. Crack lines had begun to form over her skin, and glimmers of light began to shine through, just as darkness had begun to leak out of Nathan's. A small spark of light her connected with a small clod of his darkness, and when they fizzled out, Nathan understood. And with understanding, came absolute terror.

"NO!" he quietly yelled. He tried to get off of his blade, but Sachel held him in place. "Don't you understand what you're doing? You'll kill us both!"

"If that's what it takes." She said quietly. His further cries of terror were lost upon the Archangel of Justice. Her eyes sought out the group of stunned heroes that looked upon the dying angel, hoping to single out one in particular. She found Monokrome, who was so shocked his sword dropped out of his hand. She looked at him with sorrowful eyes.

She closed her eyes, blocking the tears as best she could. When she opened her eyes, she looked into Monokrome's and said the only thing left to say.

She tried to say it. She really did, but before she could, the words were caught in her throat, and with a final breath, Sachel, Angel of Tech and Archangel of Justice, was no more.

* * *

Monokrome tried to run for Sachel as her head dropped, but Levitas grabbed him and turned him around.

"Everyone shield your eyes!" the angel shouted the Archangel, and everyone did just in time. Behind the heroes, an enormous explosion of wind went off. There was no fire, no true damage, no light, just a huge burst of force as to great opposite powers collided and yielded to the other.

The noise from the wind was deafening, no one could hear themselves shout. Pieces of small debris flew past as the wind whipped at their bodies.

After a long agonizing moment, it finally stopped. Monokrome broke free of Levitas's grip, but when he turned around, he fell to his knees. The blast had done little to no damage to the surrounding area, but Sachel was gone, Nathan along with her. Monokrome fell onto his hands, tears forming in his eyes. Gabriel crouched at Richard's side and placed his hand on the mourning hero's shoulder, the glow on his face hiding the angel's own tears. Monokrome could not believe what he had just seen. He refused to believe it. First Lexicon, now Sachel? Monokrome pounded the ground in anger and remorse.

Light had broken over the horizon when the rest of the League came to the scene. It was over. The threat was gone, the fight had ended. But for Monokrome, the cost for peace was far too great.


	15. Ch 15: Resolution

Ch. 15 Grey Area

Resolution

Monokrome stood before the hologram of Sachel inside the Hall of Heroes in the Watchtower. They had managed to move some holograms around in light of recent events. Sachel stood beside Lexicon, immortalized together as true heroes, and best friends. Monokrome suppressed a tear as he leaned down before the name plate, bowing his head.

**Archangel Sachel**

**Kristin Rose**

Monokrome smiled. He was happy he could convince Superman to add the title of 'Archangel.' Superman didn't quite understand the significance, but he could see how much it meant to the Grey Warrior.

Monokrome turned when he heard footsteps behind him. Archangel Gabriel approached him, his Specter Levitas disguise abandoned, golden eagle wings folded behind his back. Gabriel stood beside Monokrome as he too gazed upon the visage of his old student.

"I am so sorry, dear child," he whispered.

Monokrome bowed his head, "You were close, you know, before?"

Gabriel nodded, "Sachel was the most gifted and brightest student I had ever had. I trained her to be an Archangel since she was naught but a small cherub…" Gabriel voice shook, sadness overtaken it. "She was like the young daughter I never had."

"I'm so sorry," Monokrome said.

Gabriel nodded, "I was always proud of her when she was an Angel, but I could never have been happier with the woman she became…" Gabriel turned to Monokrome, "…thanks to you and Miss Conner."

Monokrome turned back to Sachel's visage, "I just…I wish I could have been there for her. Done more for her, you know, in the end."

Gabriel nodded, "You loved her. No one could ask for any more than that."

Monokrome raised his head, "And what about you? Are you going to stay in the Justice League?"

Gabriel shook his head, "There is nothing left for me here. I came to watch over Sachel, and now that is no longer necessary. No, I must go back to the Council of Archangels. Sachel's sacrifice did not go unnoticed by my kind, and we must honor her memory in our own way."

"After that?"

Gabriel shrugged, "After that I must return to my duties. An Archangel's work is never done, I suppose. I do not fathom that we shall meet again, Richard Grare, so here is where I think we must good-bye."

Monokrome turned to see Gabriel offering his hand. He looked into the old, sad eyes of Sachel's old mentor, and firmly grasped the Archangel's hand with his own.

"Good-bye, old man."

"Good-by, brave warrior."

Gabriel released Monokrome's hand, and without another word, the Archangel headed for the exit.

"You never told me about yourself."

Gabriel turned questioningly, "Excuse me?"

"You told me that the Archangels were given certain jurisdictions, like the old pantheons of gods. Michael is War, Sachel was Justice, et cetera."

Monokrome turned to look at Gabriel, "You never told me who you were."

Gabriel shook his head, "You would only laugh."

Monokrome looked back at Sachel's visage for a small second. "I don't think I am capable," he said.

Gabrielle sighed for a second. "Love," he said, a slow smile forming on his lips. "I am the Archangel of Love."

And with that, the Archangel was gone.

Monokrome looked back at Sachel's memorial one last time. He put his hand on the Plexiglas wall that separated him from the lights, as if the hologram would reach back and place her hand on his. Finally, Monokrome turned away from the hologram, and left the room for good.

* * *

Fear is not darkness. While none would try to argue that fear was a form of light, it was most certainly not dark. It was almost neutral, not one, nor the other, and it helped nor hurt either side.

Moments before his demise, Nathan felt nothing but fear. The hate, greed, and vengeance that usually fueled his actions were gone, replaced by complete terror at his impending death.

Love, however, is very much a form of light. Love and sacrifice. Both are considered to be the greatest forms of light anyone could ever find, and as Archangel Sachel hurled herself onto Nathan's sword, her heart was filled with nothing but love as she sacrificed herself for those she cared about.

Long story short: When Sachel's light and Nathan's dark met in battle, there a bit more light than there was dark.

* * *

A young woman with short black hair and dark blue eyes woke up with a start. She was wearing a dark grey hooded jacket over a red t-shirt and blue jeans. She looked around her, and found herself sitting in the booth of a diner. The young woman tried to remember how she had come to be in this small restaurant, and soon realized that she had trouble remembering anything. Anxiety began to grow in the young woman's stomach as she struggled to grasp any shred of memory.

_A park, _she thought with a small amount of relief. _I remember a park._

Anything beyond this eluded her grasp, however, as a tall waitress with brown hair and large earrings approached her.

"What can I get you, my dear?" she asked politely, flipping open her small notebook.

The young woman wasn't sure what to say, and she found that when she tried to speak, it was exceedingly difficult, as if her tongue was trying to remember how to move.

Eventually, however, her power of speech returned to her, and she managed to get out, "Coffee, a plain coffee please."

The waitress nodded and walked away. The young woman sat in the booth, her head resting in her hands. An image of a tall golden statue emerged from her memories.

_Superman_

The woman smiled, feeling relieved that she could remember this much.

_Then am I in…?_

She looked out the window, and saw part of a large city that she didn't recognize, yet somehow felt…familiar.

_I am in Metropolis._

She smiled as the city's name passed easily through her mind. However, not a single thing about herself resurfaced, and the woman felt a twinge of frustration once more.

"Here you go, miss."

The young woman started as the waitress placed the cup of hot coffee on the table in front of her. The young woman nodded her thanks and picked it up. She closed her eyes as she drank the warm liquid, and was pleased to find that it calmed her mind. A name jumped to her mind, and she was excited to know that it sounded familiar to her.

_I remember my name, _she thought with happiness.

The young woman placed the cup down, and as she opened her eyes, they began to emit a soft, light blue glow.

_My name…is Kristin Rose._

_End._


End file.
